AMERICAN  LANDMARKS 


A  COLLECTION  OF  PICTURES 


OUR  COUNTRY’S  HISTORIC  SHRINES 


WITH  DESCRIPTIVE  TEXT 


GEORGE  A.  CLEAVELAND  and  ROBERT  E.  CAMPBELL 


BOSTON 

BALCH  BROTHERS 
1 893 


Copyright,  1893, 

By  BALCH  BROTHERS. 


JTorfooDti  ijPrcss : 

J.  S.  Cushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith. 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


DEDICATION. 


To  the  National  Heart,  ever  tender  and  true,  whose  instincts  we 
trust,  whose  honors  we  share,  whose  heroisms  we  celebrate,  whose 
faith  is  stronger  than  all  our  infidelities,  and  whose  love  is  broader 
than  all  our  ingratitudes,  this  work  is  most  loyally  dedicated. 

“  There  is  a  land,  of  every  land  the  pride, 

Beloved  by  Heaven  o’er  all  the  world  beside, 

‘  Where  shall  that  land,  that  spot  of  earth,  be  found  ?  ’ 

Art  thou  a  man?  —  a  patriot?  —  look  around.” 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Getty  Research  Institute 


https://archive.org/details/americanlandmarkOOclea 


PREFACE. 


THE  sub-title  of  this  book  at  once  indicates  its  plan  and  defines  its  scope. 

Metaphorically,  a  shrine  is  a  place  or  thing  consecrated  and  hallowed  by 
past  associations.  Historic  shrines  are  such  because  of  historic  associ¬ 
ations;  while  to  deserve  the  qualifying  phrase,  “our  country’s,”  they  must  possess 
a  national  significance. 

Throughout  the  preparation  of  the  work,  the  aim  has  been  to  keep  close  to 
this  plan.  Nothing  of  merely  local  interest  has  been  admitted  to  its  pages  inten¬ 
tionally,  however  strong  the  temptation  for  commercial  reasons  to  flatter  the  pride 
of  any  community.  If  the  little  hamlet  had  many  landmarks  of  national  importance, 
we  have  welcomed  them ;  if  the  big  city  had  none,  we  have  not  tried  to  create 
them.  In  a  word,  it  has  been  the  earnest  effort  of  author  and  publisher  to  present, 
in  artistic  picture  and  pen  portraiture,  such  a  collection  of  landmarks  as  would  be 
recognized,  the  country  over,  as  truly  historic  in  character  and  national  in  impor¬ 
tance. 

And  herein  is  a  principal  reason  for  the  appearance  of  the  work.  For,  while 
there  can  be  no  question  of  the  permanent  value,  as  well  as  the  present  interest, 
of  such  a  collection,  it  is  believed  that  nothing  of  the  kind  has  ever  before  been 
attempted ;  and  a  book  can  have  no  better  excuse  for  being,  than  that  there  is  an 
important  field  which  it  may  possess  alone. 

It  will  be  noticed,  that  little  space  has  been  devoted  to  the  romantic  struggle 
between  the  French  and  English  in  Canada,  or  the  brilliant  victories  of  our  own 
arms  in  Mexico ;  but  these  deeds  were  done  on  foreign  soil. 

Again,  not  many  of  the  landmarks  of  the  Civil  War  are  here  perpetuated.  It 
could  not  be  otherwise.  National  historic  shrines  do  not  become  such  in  a  day 
or  a  season,  nor  often  in  a  generation.  Sumter,  the  dark  morning,  —  Gettysburg, 
the  hot  noon,  —  Appomattox,  the  calm  evening,  —  of  conflict ;  the  home  of  our 
martyred  president;  the  tomb  of  our  great  general;  —  a  few  such  spots  there  are, 


V 


vi 


PREFACE. 


which  even  now  are  national  shrines.  There  will  be  others,  many  of  them  ;  but 
not  yet. 

It  should  not  surprise  us  that  so  many  of  the  landmarks  of  the  Revolution  are 
found  in  our  Atlantic  cities,  from  Boston  to  Charleston.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  these  were  the  seaports  of  the  colonies.  They  were  the  centers  of  population, 
and  consequently  of  patriotism.  Here  were  stationed  the  British  ships  and  gar¬ 
risons.  Here,  throughout  the  war,  were  the  objective  points  of  the  strategy  of  both 
sides.  But  Americans  everywhere  have  a  common  heritage  in  these  sacred  spots. 
Independence  Hall  belongs  not  to  Philadelphians  alone,  nor  Bunker  Hill  to  Bostonians. 
The  location  of  these  shrines  was,  in  a  sense,  accidental ;  their  glory,  like  their 
influence,  is  universal. 

Unconsciously  almost  we  have  recognized  this  truth.  There  is  scarcely  a  State 
in  the  Union  without  its  towns  named  Washington  and  Franklin  and  Adams;  hardly 
a  city  in  the  States  but  has  given  these  names  again  to  street  and  square  and  park. 
New  York,  Brooklyn,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  have  their  Plymouth,  or  Pilgrim,  church, 
and  vie  with  one  another,  as  with  Boston,  in  the  celebration  of  Forefathers’  Day. 
“  The  Midnight  Ride  of  Paul  Revere  ”  is  declaimed  with  equal  frequency  and  fervor 
by  the  school-boys  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  Lexington,  Mass. ;  while  Sergeant  Jasper 
is  a  hero  alike  to  the  youth  of  Charleston  and  Charlestown. 

A  second  reason  for  the  book  is  the  belief,  that  such  a  presentation  of  leading 
facts  of  our  national  life  will  be  found  peculiarly  interesting.  Much  of  our  historical 
literature  is  as  dry  and  juiceless  as  last  year’s  hay,  especially  to  the  young.  How 
can  it  be  otherwise,  when  it  is  made  up  so  largely  of  mere  schedules  of  facts,  big 
and  little,  arranged  chronologically,  with  slight  regard  for  their  logical  sequence,  and 
still  less  for  their  relative  importance?  Abstract  and  concrete  are  terms  which  have 
a  meaning  in  historical  narrative  as  well  as  in  mathematical  science.  A  friend  saw 
upon  the  writer’s  desk  a  stone  from  Thoreau’s  hut  Up  to  that  time  he  had  known 
nothing  of  the  man,  but  by  means  of  the  stone  was  led  to  an  intense  interest  in  him, 
and  thus  had  his  thought  and  experience  broadened  by  acquaintance  with  one  of 
the  most  marked  personalities  of  modern  times.  So  this  collection  of  pictures 
marshals  before  us  the  hall,  the  church,  the  monument,  the  ruin,  the  home,  —  each 
a  concrete  expression  of  a  great  historic  fact,  prolific  in  instruction,  potent  in 
influence,  and  pregnant  with  inspiration.  Each  is  a  sort  of  incarnation  of  the  his¬ 
toric  word.  Thus,  it  is  a  fact,  that  George  Washington  took  command  of  the  Con- 


PREFACE. 


vii 


tinental  forces  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  July  3,  1775.  But  when  the  old  elm  is 
pictured,  under  the  shadow  of  which  he  drew  his  sword  and  spoke  his  first  words 
to  his  soldiers,  the  dry  bones  of  fact  become  clothed  with  flesh  and  instinct  with 
life  and  charm.  So  each  picture  in  the  book  becomes  a  pivotal  point  and  radiating 
center  of  interest  Around  them  all  gathers  our  country’s  history,  and  from  them 
may  be  evolved  instruction  and  inspiration  for  the  latest  posterity. 

Again,  these  landmarks  have  a  value  in  tracing  historic  boundaries.  They  aid 
us  in  adjusting  our  vision  to  the  perspective  of  history,  and  in  rectifying  our  estimate 
of  the  men  and  the  measures  of  by-gone  days.  For  example,  in  some  quarters  it 
has  been  quite  the  fashion  to  sneer  at  the  Puritan  as  a  canting,  carping  hypocrite, 
a  disturber  of  established  institutions,  the  relentless  opponent  of  all  innocent  amuse¬ 
ment,  a  hard,  angular,  dogmatic  revolutionist.  But  as  the  reader  of  this  book  stands 
in  the  little,  first  meeting-house  of  the  Puritans  at  Salem,  the  ancient  timbers,  in  their 
rugged  simplicity,  tell  a  different  tale.  They  bring  him  face  to  face  with  men  who 
have  been,  under  God,  the  mightiest  force  in  Anglo-Saxon  history,  driving  their  will, 
like  a  wedge,  through  every  difficulty,  —  that  will,  also,  almost  always  dominated  by 
their  conscience,  and  harmonizing  with  that  “  increasing  purpose,  which  through  the 
ages  runs.” 

A  final  reason  for  this  collection  is  the  hope  that  it  may  promote  a  purer  patriot¬ 
ism,  and  foster  a  stronger  faith  in  the  future  of  our  country.  We  are  confronted 
to-day  by  tremendous  political  and  social  problems ;  problems  constantly  increasing 
with  the  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  foreign  immigration,  swept  upon  our  shores  by  every 
in-coming  wave  of  either  ocean ;  problems  not  less  vital,  and  not  less  difficult  of 
solution,  than  those  which  our  fathers  faced. 

To  meet  them  we  need  our  fathers’  spirit.  So  let  us  rest  for  a  moment  from 
the  mad  excitement  of  our  on-rushing  civilization,  with  its  material  aims  and  ignoble 
indifference  to  all  that  is  heroic  in  human  life,  while  we  stand  with  heads  uncovered 
in  the  presence  of  these  national  shrines.  Let  us  listen,  for  they  are  resonant  with 
the  voice  of  all  that  is  sacred  in  our  country’s  past.  Let  them  tell  us  their  sweet 
and  solemn  story  of  freedom,  union  and  patriotism,  which  emphasizes  the  eternal 
truth,  that,  in  the  long  run,  sacrifice,  not  indulgence ;  honesty,  not  trickery ;  justice, 
not  oppression ;  love,  not  hatred ;  are  the  forces  which  rule  the  world. 


Boston,  July,  1893. 


CONTENTS 


3^00- 


Page 

Plymouth  .......  2 

Jamestown  and  Williamsburg  ...  4 

Spain  and  America . 6 

Roger  Williams  ......  8 

Salem  and  Witchcraft . 10 

Colonial  New  Hampshire  .  .  .  .12 

Maine  and  the  French . 14 

Historic  Homes  in  Philadelphia  .  .  .16 

Foundations  of  the  Nation  .  .  .  .18 

Boston  and  Liberty . 20 

Richmond  and  Freedom  ....  22 

Independence  Hall  .....  24 

Lexington  .......  26 

Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  ...  28 

Bunker  Hill  .  .  .  .  .  .  .30 

Washington  at  Cambridge  ....  32 

Long  Island . 34 

Shrines  in  Busiest  New  York  ....  36 

Washington  in  New  York  ....  38 

Burgoyne’s  Surrender . 40 

West  Point  .......  42 

Valley  Forge  .......  44 

Moultrie,  Jasper  and  Marion  ....  46 

Trenton,  Princeton  and  Monmouth  ...  48 


Page 

Connecticut  in  the  Revolution ....  50 

Yorktown .  52 

Closing  Scenes  of  the  Revolution  ...  54 

Mount  Vernon  ......  56 

Jefferson,  Franklin  and  John  Adams  .  .  58 

Hamilton,  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  .  .  60 

Greene,  Wayne  and  Schuyler  ....  62 

Confederation  and  Union  ....  64 

Then  and  Now  ......  66 

Boston  Common  ......  68 

Battle  of  Lake  Erie  .  .  .  .  .  70 

Attack  on  Baltimore  .....  72 

Battle  of  New  Orleans  .  .  .  .  .74 

Andrew  Jackson  .  .  .  .  .  .76 

Harrison  and  Tippecanoe  ....  78 

The  Senatorial  Trio  .  .  .  .  .80 

The  Capitol  .......  82 

The  White  House  ......  84 

Sumter  and  Appomattox . 86 

Gettysburg  .......  88 

Arlington  Heights . 90 

Abraham  Lincoln . 92 

Ulysses  S.  Grant  ......  94 

Our  National  Songs  .....  96 


IX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Adams,  John,  Home  of  . 

Page 

59 

Dorchester  Heights  .... 

Andre  Capture  Monument 

42 

Dustin  Monument,  The  .... 

Appomattox,  Field  of  ... 

87 

Ethan  Allen  Monument,  The,  Burlington  . 

Army  and  Navy  Monument,  Boston 

68 

Faneuil  Hall  ...... 

Battery,  The,  New  York. 

55 

First  Meeting-House,  Salem  . 

Battery,  The,  West  Point 

43 

Forefathers’  Monument  .... 

opp. 

Battle  Monument,  Baltimore  . 

72 

Fort  Covington  ..... 

Battle  Monument,  New  Orleans 

74 

Fort  Greene  ...... 

opp. 

Battle  Pass . 

34 

Fort  Griswold . 

Belmont  ...... 

16 

Fort  Halifax  ...... 

Bemis  Heights  Monument 

41 

Fort  Marion  ...... 

opp. 

Bemis  Heights,  The  Great  Ravine  . 

opp. 

40 

Fort  McHenry  ..... 

opp. 

Bennington  Monument  .... 

40 

Fort  Moultrie ...... 

Boston  Common  ..... 

opp. 

68 

Fort  Sumter  ...... 

Bowling  Green . 

37 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  Grave  of  . 

Bruton  Parish  Church  .... 

opp. 

4 

Fraunce’s  Tavern  ..... 

Bunker  Hill  Monument  .... 

opp. 

30 

Frog  Pond,  The,  Boston  Common  . 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  Grave  of  . 

80 

Gettysburg  Battle-Field  .... 

opp. 

Capitol,  The  ...... 

opp. 

82 

Governor’s  Palace,  Santa  Fe  . 

Capitol,  The,  from  Pennsylvania  Avenue  . 

83 

Granary  Burying-Ground,  Boston 

Capitol,  The,  from  the  east 

82 

Grand  Army  Monument,  Gettysburg 

Carpenters’  Hal!  ..... 

64 

Grant,  Headquarters  of,  City  Point  . 

opp. 

Castle  Garden . 

opp. 

66 

Grant,  Home  of,  in  1861 

opp. 

Chew  House,  The,  Germantown 

45 

Grant,  Tomb -of  ..... 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria 

56 

Greene,  General  Nathanael,  Birthplace  of 

Christ  Church,  Philadelphia  . 

opp. 

64 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  Home  of 

opp. 

City  Hall  Park,  New  York 

opp. 

36 

Hancock,  John,  Home  of 

Clay,  Henry,  Home  of  . 

opp. 

80 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  Tomb  of  . 

Concord  Bridge  ..... 

opp. 

26 

Hasbrouch  House,  The  .... 

Congress  Hall 

65 

Hermitage,  The  ..... 

opp. 

Copp’s  Hill  Burying-Ground 

31 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  Home  of  . 

opp. 

Crown  Point,  Ruins  of  . 

29 

Houdon’s  Statue  of  Washington 

opp. 

Dartmouth  Hall,  Dartmouth  College 

13 

Independence  Hall  ..... 

opp. 

Delaware  River,  Trenton 

opp. 

48 

31 

Independence  Hall,  from  Chestnut  Street 

.i 

Page 

33 

12 

28 

21 

18 

2 

73 

34 

51 

14 

6 

72 

47 

86 

58 

54 

69 

88 

6 

61 

89 

86 

94 

94 

63 

60 

60 

79 

39 

76 

96 

22 

24 

25 


xii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Jackson,  Birthplace  of  . 

Page 

77 

Putnam,  General  Israel,  Home  of  . 

opp. 

Page 

50 

Jackson,  Headquarters  of 

75 

Red  Bank  Monument  .... 

44 

Jackson  Square,  New  Orleans 

opp. 

74 

Revolutionary  Soldiers,  Tomb  of,  Brooklyn 

35 

Jackson,  Tomb  of  . 

76 

Roger  Williams  House,  The,  Salem 

10 

Jamestown  Ruins  ..... 

4 

Roger  Williams  Monument,  The,  Providence  . 

8 

Jasper  Monument,  The,  Charleston. 

46 

Roger  Williams,  Site  of  Seekonk  Settlement 

Jumel  House,  The  .... 

opp. 

38 

of . 

9 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  Home  of  . 

96 

Sailors’  Graves,  Put-In  Bay  . 

71 

Lee  Mansion,  The  ..... 

91 

St.  John’s  Church,  Richmond 

23 

Lexington  Green . 

27 

St.  Paul’s  Church,  New  York  . 

36 

Liberty  Bell . 

24 

Schuyler  Mansion,  The  .... 

opp. 

62 

Lincoln,  Home  of,  in  1861 

opp. 

92 

Slate  Rock,  Providence  .... 

opp. 

8 

Lincoln,  House  in  which  he  died 

92 

Smith,  S.  F.,  Home  of,  Newton 

97 

Lincoln  Monument,  The,  Springfield 

93 

Soldiers’  Graves,  Arlington  Heights  . 

opp. 

90 

Livingston  Manor  House,  The. 

38 

State-House,  The,  Annapolis  . 

opp. 

54 

Marblehead  Town-House,  The 

19 

Stenton  ....... 

17 

Marion,  General  Francis,  Tomb  of  . 

opp. 

46 

Tennant  Church,  The,  Monmouth  . 

48 

Massachusetts  Hall,  Harvard  University  . 

opp. 

18 

Ticonderoga,  Ruins  of 

opp. 

28 

Monticello  ...... 

opp. 

58 

Tippecanoe,  Battle-Field  of 

opp. 

78 

Moore  House,  The,  Yorktown  . 

opp. 

52 

Tippecanoe  Entrance  .... 

78 

Mount  Macgregor  Cottage 

95 

To  the  Unknown  Dead,  Arlington  Heights 

90 

Mount  Vernon  ..... 

opp. 

56 

Trumbull,  Governor,  War  Office  of  . 

50 

National  Monument,  Gettysburg 

88 

Wall  Street . 

67 

National  Monument,  Yorktown 

52 

Washington  Elm,  The  .... 

32 

Nourse,  Rebecca,  Home  of  . 

1  1 

Washington,  Headquarters  of,  Cambridge, 

opp. 

32 

Old  Custom-House,  The,  Yorktown. 

53 

Washington,  Headquarters  of,  Richmond 

22 

Old  Garrison  House,  The,  York 

15 

Washington,  Headquarters  of,  Valley  Forge,  opp. 

44 

Old  Mission,  The,  San  Diego  . 

7 

Washington  Memorial  Arch 

66 

Old  North  Church,  The,  Boston 

26 

Washington,  Tomb  of  ... 

57 

Old  South  Meeting-House,  The,  Boston  . 

opp. 

20 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  Grave  of . 

62 

Old  State-House,  The,  Boston 

20 

Webster,  Birthplace  of  . 

81 

Old  Quaker  Meeting-House,  The,  Princeton 

49 

Wentworth  Mansion,  The 

opp. 

12 

Penn  House,  The  .  ...  . 

opp. 

16 

West  Point  ...... 

opp. 

42 

Pepperell,  Sir  William,  Home  of 

opp. 

14 

White  House,  The,  Jackson  Monument  in  the 

Perry,  Commodore  0.  H.,  Birthplace  of  . 

opp. 

70 

foreground  .  .  .  .  . 

84 

Perry  Monument,  The,  Cleveland  . 

70 

White  House,  The,  South  Park  view 

85 

Pilgrim  Hall . 

2 

White  House,  The  .  ...  . 

opp. 

84 

Plymouth  Rock  .  .  .  .  . 

3 

Williamsburg  Court-House,  The 

5 

Prescott,  Colonel  William,  Home  of 

30 

Witch  Hill,  Salem  ... 

opp. 

10 

Hrtists 


HARRY  FENN. 

FRANK  T.  MERRILL. 

W.  C.  FITLER. 

L.  J.  BRIDGEMAN. 

SEARS  GALLAGHER. 

FRANK  FAVOUR. 

CHARLES  E.  HOOPER. 

GEORGE  A.  TEEL. 

E.  F.  CARR. 

J.  ALBERT  COLE. 

GEORGE  D.  IDE. 

WILLIAM  T.  OLIVER. 

FRED  D.  CHASE. 

WILLIAM  H.  GARRETT. 

V.  L.  GEORGE. 

ALBERT  E.  DOWNS. 

WALTER  B.  BURRELL. 

CHARLES  M.  HOWARD. 

Bnoravers. 


JOHN  ANDREW  AND  SON  COMPANY. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS 


PLYMOUTH. 


LYMOUTH  has  been  called,  most  suggestively,  “  the  American  Mecca  ”  ; 
perhaps  because  multitudes  have  made  it  the  goal  of  their  pilgrimage,  to 
be  reminded  by  its  relics  and  its  Rock  of  the  struggle,  the  heroism  and  the 

success  of  its  first 
settlers ;  and  perhaps 
also  because,  like 
Mecca,  it  is  a  birth¬ 
place.  It  was  here 
that  the  great,  basal 
truth  of  our  national 
constitution,  and  of 
our  national  life,  — 
man’s  inherent  right 
to  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  —  first  saw 
the  light  in  the  New 
World.  Here,  also, 
that  truth  was  nour¬ 
ished  by  the  faith  of 
the  forefathers,  in 
toil  and  hardship  and  self-sacrifice,  until  it  had  grown  great 
and  strong  in  the  sight  of  all  men. 

It  is  hardly  a  metaphor  to  say  that  the  American  nation 
itself,  in  its  social,  political  and  religious  ideals,  and  in  the  dominant  qualities  of  its 
sturdy  citizenship,  was  born  at  Plymouth.  True,  only  a  small  fraction  of  our  people 
can  trace  their  descent  from  the  Pilgrims  ;  but  there  is  a  mightier  influence  than 
that  of  heredity,  —  the  influence  of  character;  and  we  have  all  felt  this  Pilgrim  touch 
upon  our  lives,  upon  thought  and  purpose  and  act. 

Plymouth  Rock,  upon  which  the  Pilgrims  landed,  is  a  plain,  granite  boulder,  — 
fit  symbol  of  their  faith  and  type  of  their  future.  Although  to-day  its  very  dust  is 
treasured  as  a  relic,  as  late  as  1741  it  was  proposed,  as  part  of  a  scheme  for  the 


Pilgrim  Hall. 


/ 


/ 


FOREFATHERS’  MONUMENT 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


3 


commercial  development  of  the  town,  to  cover  the  landing-place,  and  even  the  Rock 
itself,  with  a  wharf.  But  Elder  Thomas  Faunce,  who  in  his  boyhood  had  seen  some 
of  the  passengers  of  the  Mayflower  point  out  the  precise  spot  where  they  landed, 
was  moved  to  tears  when  told  that  a  wharf  was  to  be  built  there.  The  old  man’s 
tears  saved  the  Rock  from  oblivion.  In  1774,  in  an  attempt  to  remove  it  to  the 
center  of  the  town,  that  its  presence  might  incite  the  people  to  a  bolder  resistance 
of  English  oppression,  it  was  broken  in  two.  The  upper  portion  was  taken  to  Liberty 
Pole  Square,  near  the  meeting-house,  whence  it  was  removed  in  1834  to  the  front 
pf  Pilgrim  Hall  and  surrounded  with  an  iron  railing.  Finally,  in  1880  it  was  restored 
to  its  other  half  in  the  original  spot  on  the  shore  and  covered  with  a  granite  canopy. 

Pilgrim  Hall  is  a  handsome  stone  building  completed  in  1825.'  It  contains  many 
interesting  colonial  relics,  including  the  chairs  of  Carver  and  Brewster  and  the  sword 
of  Miles  Standish. 

Forefathers’  Monument  —  a  national  structure  —  was  dedicated  in  1889.  The 
granite  pedestal,  forty-five  feet  high,  is  surrounded  by  figures  of  Morality,  Freedom, 
Education  and  Law,  and  surmounted  by  a  colossal  statue  of  Faith,  thirty-six  feet  in 
height, —  the  largest  granite  figure  in  the  world.  Upon  the  face  of  the  monument 
is  the  simple  inscription,  “  National  Monument  to  the  Forefathers,  erected  by  a  grate¬ 
ful  people  in  remembrance  of  their  labors,  sacrifices  and  sufferings  in  the  cause  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty.” 


Plymouth  Rock. 


JAMESTOWN  AND  WILLIAMSBURG. 


OF  JAMESTOWN,  —  the  name  that  almost  instinctively  falls  from  our  lips 
in  company  with  Plymouth,  so  like,  and  yet  so  unlike,  the  latter  in  its 
memories  and  meanings,  that  each  seems  at  once  the  synonym  and  the 
antonym  of  the  other,  —  nothing  is  left  but  the  remains  of  the  old  church  tower,  a 

few  solitary  chimneys  and  the  monu¬ 
ments  of  the  dead. 

These  crumbling  ruins,  however, 
commemorate,  not  only  the  earliest 
English  settlement,  but  also  the  first 
organized  resistance  to  English  oppres¬ 
sion,  in  America.  Jamestown  was  burned 
during  Bacon’s  rebellion,  that  it  might 
not  become  again  a  stronghold  of  gov¬ 
ernmental  despotism,  the  leaders  firing 
their  own  homes  first.  The  deed  was 
done  in  the  twilight  of  a  beautiful  Sep¬ 
tember  day  one  hundred  years  before 
another  band  of  rebels  signed  the  Decla¬ 
ration  of  Independence.  The  town  was 
destroyed ;  but  perchance  it  speaks  to 
us  more  eloquently  in  ruin  and  desola¬ 
tion  than  it  could  in  prosperity  and 

Jamestown  Ruins.  power. 

Williamsburg,  —  for  nearly  a  cen¬ 
tury  previous  to  1776,  the  Colonial,  and  for  three  years  afterwards  the  State, 
capital  of  Virginia,  —  contains  within  its  borders  more  to  interest  the  historian  and 
stir  the  blood  of  the  patriot  than  any  other  town  of  equal  population  in  the  country. 
Here  may  be  seen  the  famous  “Bruton  Parish  Church,”  built  in  1715,  and  con¬ 
taining  the  original  Jamestown  Communion  service,  and  the  font  in  which,  tradition 
says,  Pocahontas  was  baptized.  Here  is  the  house  used  by  General  Washington 
as  headquarters  during  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  Here,  also,  is  the  old  Court-House, 


4 


BRUTON  PARISH  CHURCH 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


5 


designed  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  whose  walls  have  echoed  the  eloquence  of 
Virginia’s  greatest  jurists.  Here  once  stood  the  “Governor’s  Palace,”  its  name 
suggesting  a  pomp  and  magnificence  not  even  attempted  in  the  other  colonies. 
Here  was  the  “Raleigh  Tavern,”  with  its  “Apollo  Room,”  called,  like  Boston’s 
Faneuil  Hall,  “The  Cradle  of  American  Liberty.”  Here  was  founded  the  second, 
in  order  of  time,  of  America’s  higher  seats  of  learning,  —  William  and  Mary  College. 
Here,  also,  was  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  so  execrated  by  King  George,  but 
forever  linked  in  grateful  remembrance  with  the  name  of  Patrick  Henry. 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  or  ignored,  that  our  nation  has  been  moulded  by 
many  and  diverse  influences.  These  Virginian  landmarks  tell  us,  as  nothing  else 
could  so  plainly,  that  Cavaliers  and  Churchmen  were  among  the  master-builders 
of  the  republic.  They  teach  this  other  truth,  also,  that  in  spite  of  these  diverse 
influences,  perhaps  in  part  because  of  them,  we  are  to-day  one  nation,  —  one  in  our 
Anglo-Saxon  inheritance  of  noblest  convictions  and  loftiest  ambitions,  one  in  the  love 
of  freedom  and  the  hatred  of  tyranny,  one  in  our  holiest  memories  and  most  sacred 
hopes. 


* 


Williamsburg  Court-House. 


SPAIN  AND  AMERICA. 


oO^CK)- 


THE  old  fortress  at  St.  Augustine  —  Fort  Marion,  as  it  is  called  to-day,  or  San 
Marco,  as  the  Spaniards  named  it  —  was  not  completed  until  1756,  though 
the  work  of  building  its  massive  walls  had  been  begun  by  the  middle  of 
the  preceding  century.  The  town  is  the  oldest  in  the  United  States,  having  been 
founded  by  Pedro  Menendez  in  1565,  more  than  two  score  years  before  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  Jamestown.  The 
principal  events  of  its 
history,  in  most  of  which 
the  fort  shared,  are  its 
capture  and  sack  by  Sir 
Francis  Drake  in  1586, 
and  again  by  the  bucca¬ 
neer  Davis  in  1665;  the 
unsuccessful  attack  by  the 
South  Carolinians  under 
Governor  Moore  during 
Queen  Anne’s  War,  re¬ 
peated  by  them  and  the 
Georgians  under  Governor 
Oglethorpe  in  1740;  its 

Governor's  Palace.  Sant,  Fe.  Cession,  along  with  the 

province  of  Florida,  to 

Great  Britain  in  1763;  its  retrocession  to  Spain  in  1783;  and  its  purchase  by  the 
United  States  in  1819. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War,  when  it  was  held  by  the  British,  the  fort  was 
used  as  a  prison  for  American  patriots.  Here  were  confined  a  large  number  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  Charleston,  who,  in  direct  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  city’s 
capitulation,  had  been  brought  to  St.  Augustine,  where  they  suffered  most  barba¬ 
rous  treatment.  In  one  of  San  Marco's  dark  and  loathsome  dungeons,  Colonel  Chris¬ 
topher  Gadsden  was  kept  in  solitary  confinement  for  nearly  a  year  to  gratify  the 


FORT  MARION,  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


7 


cruelty  of  the  inhuman  commander.  But  in  spite  of  indignity  and  suffering  these 
resolute  patriots  refused  to  forsake  their  country’s  cause. 

The  Governor’s  Palace  at  Santa  Fe  and  the  Old  Mission  House  at  San  Diego, 
like  the  old  fort  at  St.  Augustine,  are  significant  reminders  of  the  part  played  by 
Spain  in  the  drama  of  American  history.  To  Spain  belongs  the  glory  of  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  a  New  World ;  to  Spain,  also,  the  chief  honors  of  its  early  exploration ; 
to  Spain,  again,  the  renown  of  planting  the  first  permanent  settlements  upon  its 
soil.  Columbus,  Americus  Vespucius,  Ponce  de  Leon,  Cortez,  De  Ayllon,  De  Nar¬ 
vaez,  De  Soto,  Menendez,  are  some  of  the  names  which  recall  her  early  achieve¬ 
ments  in  the  western  hemisphere.  At  one  time  in  the  seventeenth  century  more 
than  half  of  the  present  territory  of  the  United  States,  if  we  except  Alaska,  was 
claimed  by  the  Spanish  king.  Nor  was  the  claim  nominal  only  The  Spaniard 
had  traversed  the  Pacific  slope  eastward  to  the  Rockies ;  and  Florida,  the  Gulf 
States,  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  great  basin  beyond,  westward  to  the  Dakotas. 
Wherever  he  had  gone  he  had  planted  the  holy  cross  of  his  church  and  the  royal 
arms  of  his  country.  The  whole  of  this  vast  area  was  dotted  with  these  symbols 
of  the  authority  of  Madrid  and  Rome.  But  the  changes  of  the  years  are  many. 
Another  race,  already  occupying  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  was  to  carry  westward  a 
different  civilization,  which  in  two  short  centuries  was  to  efface  well-nigh  every 
mark  of  former  conquest,  but  a  few  ancient  ruins  which  will  remain  a  little  longer, 
monuments  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  Spanish  power  in  America. 


Old  Mission,  San  Diego. 


ROGER  WILLIAMS. 


ROGER  WILLIAMS  was  born  about  the  year  1600,  and  probably  in  some 
part  of  Wales.  After  taking  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  he  came  to 
Massachusetts  in  1631,  a  Puritan  of  the  strongest  type.  He  held  short 
pastorates  with  the  First  Church  of  Salem  and  the  Plymouth  Church;  but  in  1635, 
during  his  second  settlement  in  Salem,  he  was  banished  from  the  Massachusetts 

colony  on  account  of  the  strictness  of 
his  “Separatist”  ideas,  and  for  denying 
the  right  of  the  civil  power  to  control 
men  in  matters  of  conscience.  1  o  pre¬ 
vent  the  spread  of  his  doctrines,  it  was 
determined  to  send  him  back  to  Eng¬ 
land  ;  but  he  escaped  the  deportation 
by  betaking  himself  to  the  wilderness. 
After  wandering  in  the  forest  for  many 
weeks,  suffering  from  hunger  and  cold, 
—  for  it  was  winter,  —  and  kept  from 
actual  starvation  only  by  the  aid  of 
friendly  Indians,  he  at  last  bought  a 
tract  of  land  from  the  natives,  and,  with 
a  few  companions  who  had  joined  him, 
established  a  new  colony  where  the  city 
of  Providence,  R.I.,  now  stands.  This 
name  he  gave  it,  in  recognition  of  his 
Divine  guidance  and  preservation  in  the  wilderness.  He  had  previously  attempted 
to  settle  at  a  point  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Seekonk  River,  —  shown  in  the  third 
picture  of  this  group,  —  but  had  abandoned  the  place  at  the  request  of  Governor 
Winslow. 

Williams’s  friendly  relation  with  the  Indians,  established  while  he  was  at  Plym¬ 
outh,  was  subsequently  the  means  of  preventing  an  alliance  between  the  Pequods 
and  the  Narragansetts,  which,  had  it  been  consummated,  would  probably  have 
resulted  in  the  extermination  of  the  New  England  colonies.  In  1644  he  visited 


Roger  Williams’s  Monument. 


SLATE  ROCK,  PROVIDENCE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


9 


England,  and  secured  a  charter  for  his  colony,  and  in  1654  was  elected  as  its 
governor.  He  died  at  Providence  in  1683. 

He  was  the  pioneer  of  new  principles  of  government  both  in  Church  and 
State.  He  was  one  of  the  chief  apostles  of  liberty  of  conscience.  He  con¬ 
tended  nobly  for  the  right  of  every  man  to  freedom  from  all  human  dictation  in 
religious  matters  ;  and  his  advocacy  of  such  a  right  is  the  more  notable  because 
to  the  people  of  that  generation  it  seemed  like  the  complete  subversion  of  all 
Christian  order  and  the  undermining  of  the  foundations  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
itself.  But  he  was  more  than  an  apostle  of  liberty  of  conscience.  He  contended 
also  for  the  great  principle  of  government  by  the  people.  In  this  also  he  was  far 
in  advance  of  the  majority  of  his  generation.  He  was  not  a  destructionist,  but 
propagated  his  ideas  by  embodying  them  in  the  constitution  of  the  colony  which 
he  founded.  They  are  now  the  genius  of  the  institutions  of  this  whole  nation, 
and  are  finding  their  way  more  and  more  into  the  thought  and  life  of  the  nations 
of  the  Old  World.  Memorial  stones  and  tablets  have  been  erected  in  honor  of  the 
man  ;  but  his  monument  will  be  completed  only  when  in  every  land  and  among 
every  race  there  shall  be  found  “a  free  church  in  a  free  state.” 


Site  of  Williams's  House  on  the  Seekonk. 


SALEM  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 


ON  the  outskirts  of  Salem,  Mass.,  and  rising  to  a  considerable  height  above 
the  city,  is  a  bleak  and  rocky  eminence  called  Witch  Hill,  upon  the  sum¬ 
mit  of  which  were  executed  nearly  a  score  of  the  victims  of  the  witch¬ 
craft  trials  of  1692-3.  Near  the  center  of  the  city,  on  the  corner  of  Essex  and 
North  streets,  stands  a  very  old  building  known  as  the  Roger  Williams  house,  in 
which  the  great  apostle  of  religious  tolerance  lived,  while  he  was  minister  of 

the  first  church  of  Salem 
between  1631  and  1636. 
Many  of  the  examinations 
of  those  accused  of  witch¬ 
craft  were  held  in  one  of 
the  rooms  of  this  house. 
In  the  neighboring  town  of 
Danvers,  which  at  the  time 
was  a  part  of  Salem,  may 
be  seen  another  old  house 
connected  with  the  witch¬ 
craft  delusion,  —  the  home 
of  Rebecca  Nourse,  who 
was  hanged  on  Witch  Hill 
with  four  companions. 

Her  case  is  a  typical 
one.  She  was  a  woman  of  exemplary  life,  modest  manner  and  lovable  disposition. 
She  was  accused  by  the  children  of  a  neighbor,  with  whom  her  husband  had  quar¬ 
relled,  of  having  bewitched  them.  The  proof  of  her  guilt  consisted  of  the  chil¬ 
dren’s  hysterics.  The  jury  at  first  were  inclined  to  acquit  her;  but  the  judges, 
more  learned  in  the  science  of  demonology,  compelled  a  different  verdict. 

The  significance  of  these  landmarks  depends  entirely  upon  the  point  of  view. 
They  may  well  excite  at  the  same  moment  our  horror,  our  pity,  and  our  admira¬ 
tion  ;  —  horror  that  only  two  short  centuries  ago  such  foul  deeds  could  have  been 

done  in  the  fair  name  of  the  Christ,  pity  for  the  credulity  and  folly  and  weakness 

10 


Roger  Williams’s  House. 


WITCH  HILL,  SALEM. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


1 1 

of  human  nature  which  made  such  wickedness  possible,  and  admiration  for  that 
steadfast  loyalty  to  the  truth  which  would  not  suffer  Burroughs  and  others  of  the 
accused  to  save  their  lives  by  confession  of  guilt,  when  they  knew  that  they  were 
innocent  and  that  the  belief  on  which  the  charges  rested  was  a  lie.  Seen  in  this 
light  these  men  and  women  are  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  truth,  rather  than  the 
victims  of  a  tragedy,  and  the  place  where  they  offered  up  their  lives  becomes  a  shrine. 

We  must  admire  also  that  strong  sense,  stern  conscience  and  sturdy  faith  of 
our  ancestors,  which  could  see  a  wrong,  feel  a  wrong  and  right  a  wrong  so  rapidly 
and  so  radically.  Belief  in  witchcraft  did  not  originate  in  New  England  Puritanism. 
Before  Puritanism  was  known,  before  Protestantism  even  was  known,  the  poison 
had  been  working  in  the  world’s  veins  and  breaking  out  from  time  to  time  in  hideous 
sores.  The  disease  came  to  New  England  from  Old  England,  and  the  nostrums 
for  its  treatment  were  brought  with  it.  It  is  not  strange  that  it  broke  out  again 
here.  The  notable  thing  is,  that  it  was  cured  here ;  not  allayed,  not  arrested,  but 
cured,  purged  from  the  system  of  the  Commonwealth. 


Rebecca  Nourse  House. 


COLONIAL  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


ON  the  shore  of  a  beautiful  bay,  called  Little  Harbor,  about  two  miles  from 
the  city  of  Portsmouth,  stands  the  Wentworth  Mansion,  the  home  of  that 
Wentworth  family  so  prominent  in  the  history  of  colonial  New  Hampshire. 
Here  lived  Benning  Wentworth,  governor  of  the  colony  from  1741  to  1767,  after 


whom  the  town  of  Bennington,  Vt.,  was 
named,  who  gave  to  Dartmouth  College 
the  five  hundred  acres  of  land  on  which 
its  buildings  stand,  who  helped  to  raise 
the  fund  for  its  endowment,  and  who 
was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  its 
charter. 


Dartmouth  has  the  most  romantic 
history  of  all  our  colleges.  It  grew  out 
of  the  Indian  school  established  at  Leb¬ 
anon,  Conn.,  by  Dr.  Eleazar  Wheelock, 
worthy  successor  of  John  Eliot  in  the 
work  of  educating  and  evangelizing  the 
red  man.  A  spot  on  the  Connecticut 
River,  now  the  site  of  the  town  of  Han¬ 
over,  but  then  a  part  of  the  unbroken 
wilderness  of  northwestern  New  Hamp¬ 
shire,  was  chosen  as  the  birthplace  of 
the  infant  college,  because  it  was  the 
center  of  the  Indian  population  of  New 


Dustin  Monument. 


England.  There,  in  1770,  President  Wheelock  and  his  students,  in  lonely  log- 

huts  in  the  heart  of  the  primeval  forest,  began  against  ignorance  the  battle  so 

nobly  continued  by  the  old  college  to  this  day. 

The  story  of  the  Dustin  Monument  is  the  dark  background  to  the  bright  pic¬ 
ture  of  the  beginnings  of  Dartmouth  College.  For  every  Indian  who  sought  the 
enlightening  influence  of  the  school,  a  thousand  had  gone  upon  the  war-path  seek¬ 
ing  the  scalps  of  the  white  settlers.  Hannah  Dustin’s  home  was  on  the  north 

12 


THE  WENTWORTH  MANSION 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


13 


bank  of  the  Merrimac,  on  the  site  of  the  flourishing  city  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  just 
over  the  present  New  Hampshire  boundary  line.  In  the  early  spring  of  1697,  a 
band  of  French  and  Indians  descended  upon  the  settlement,  and  killed  or  captured 
forty  of  the  inhabitants.  Among  the  captives  was  Hannah  Dustin,  whom,  after 
killing  her  week-old  child,  the  savages  dragged  through  the  forest,  with  her  nurse, 
Mary  Neff,  to  their  camp  on  an  island  in  the  Merrimac,  six  miles  above  the  pres¬ 
ent  city  of  Concord.  Here  their  vigilance  was  somewhat  relaxed,  and  the  heroic 
women,  assisted  by  a  boy  who  had  been  captured  by  the  Indians  nearly  a  year 
before,  killed  ten  of  their  captors  as  they  slept,  destroyed  all  the  canoes  but  one, 
and  embarking  in  that,  escaped  down  the  river,  eventually  reaching  Haverhill  in 
safety.  The  monument,  erected  on  the  spot  in  1874,  bears  the  names  of  the  two 
women  and  the  boy,  Samuel  Leonardson.  The  place  where  the  deed  was  done 
is  still  called  Dustin  Island. 


Dartmouth  Hall.  Dartmouth  College. 


MAINE  AND  THE  FRENCH, 


— — 

MAINE  bore  a  principal  part  in  the  momentous  struggle  between  the  Eng¬ 
lish  and  French  for  the  possession  of  North  America.  Her  connection 
with  the  contest  began  with  the  conflicting  grants  of  her  territory.  In 
1603  Henry  IV.  of  France  gave  to  De  Monts  a  charter  of  the  country  between 
the  40th  and  46th  degrees  of  north  latitude.  Two  years  later  James  I.  of  England 
granted  to  a  company  of  his  subjects  the  territory  between  the  34th  and  45th 
degrees.  In  1604  the  French  established  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix. 

In  1607  the 
English  made  a 
settlement  at 
the  mouth  of 
the  Kennebec, 
followed  by  oth¬ 
ers  at  various 
points  along  the 

Fort  Halifax. 

coast,  among 

them  Georgiana,  —  now  York,  —  the  capital  of  the  province  and  the  first  chartered 
city  in  America. 

The  old  Garrison  House,  shown  on  the  next  page,  was  built  during  the  first 
decade  of  Georgiana’s  existence.  An  addition  has  been  made  to  one  end  of  the 
building,  but  its  main  part  is  as  it  was  originally,  the  second  story  projecting 
beyond  the  first,  so  that  the  inmates  could  shoot  down  upon  the  foe,  who  other¬ 
wise  might  have  been  protected  by  its  walls. 

Not  only  was  Maine,  from  her  exposed  frontier  position,  a  constant  battle¬ 
ground,  but  her  citizens  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  expeditions  against  the 
French  beyond  her  borders.  Port  Royal  was  captured  by  Sir  William  Phipps, 
and  Louisburg  by  Sir  William  Pepperell,  whose  home  at  Kittery,  Me.,  is  shown 
in  the  photogravure.  He  was  plain  William  Peppered  before  the  expedition 
started  in  1745;  but  so  important  was  his  success  to  the  colonists  and  to  Eng¬ 
land,  that  on  his  return  he  was  knighted. 

Old  Fort  Halifax  is  at  Winslow,  Me.,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Kennebec, 


14 


HOME  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  PEPPERELL. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


15 


at  the  point  where  it  is  joined  by  the  Sebasticook.  It  was  the  extreme  northern 
outpost  of  the  English  colonies  in  Maine,  and  commanded  the  most  feasible  ave¬ 
nue  of  invasion  from  Canada,  which  was  up  the  Chaudiere  and  down  the  Kenne¬ 
bec.  It  was  also  a  natural  base  of  operations  against  Canada,  and  was  so  used 
by  the  Americans  during  the  Revolution ;  for  it  was  from  here  that  Arnold’s  ill- 
fated  expedition  started  through  the  wilderness  for  Quebec.  The  old  fort  has 
withstood  the  summer  suns  and  the  winter  winds  of  a  century  and  a  half,  and 
remains  to-day  essentially  the  same  as  when  it  was  built. 

These  ancient  landmarks  possess  an  interest  and  a  significance  truly  national. 
They  are  memorials  of  that  mighty  contest  for  supremacy  in  the  New  World 
which  determined  the  character  of  American  institutions ;  which  gave  to  the  Amer¬ 
ican  colonists,  who  bore  its  brunt  on  the  English  side,  confidence  in  their  resources 
and  capacity  for  war ;  which  revealed  to  them  the  secret  of  the  strength  to  be 
found  in  union ;  and  which  quickened  into  life,  a  century  sooner  than  otherwise  it 
would  have  had  being,  that  national  feeling  which  made  itself  manifest  in  1776. 


Old  Garrison  House,  York. 


HISTORIC  HOMES  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


THE  three  buildings  represented  in  this  group  of  pictures  are  relics  of  the 
earliest  years  of  our  country’s  history  and  mementos  of  three  of  its  dis¬ 
tinguished  men.  They  are,  indeed,  “historic  homes.”  They  reach  back 
to  the  days  when  America  was  a  vast  wilderness,  with  only  a  narrow,  broken 
fringe  of  the  white  man’s  settlements ;  and  they  sheltered  the  persons  and  the 
work  of  men  whose  ability  and  patriotism  helped  to  open  the  way  for  the  amaz¬ 
ing  transformation  in  the 
country  which  has  since 
taken  place. 

The  first  picture  pre¬ 
sents  the  “  Belmont  ”  man¬ 
sion,  which  stands  on  a 
sightly  elevation  in  West 
Fairmount  Park,  affording 
a  view  whose  beauty  can 
hardly  be  surpassed.  It 
was  the  home,  during  the 
Revolution  and  in  subse¬ 
quent  years,  of  Judge 
„  ,  Richard  Peters,  a  distin- 

Belmont. 

guished  lawyer  and  patriot, 

and  the  friend  and  coadjutor  of  Lafayette  and  Washington  during  the  country’s 
great  struggle  for  freedom. 

The  photogravure  shows  the  Penn  mansion,  the  oldest  building  now  standing 
within  the  limits  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  built  in  1682  by  order  of  William  Penn, 
who  had  just  received  a  grant  of  an  enormous  tract  of  land  west  of  the  Delaware 
from  Charles  II.  He  had  also  been  commissioned  as  governor  of  the  colony,  which 
was  to  be  established  in  this  territory  ;  and  the  order  for  the  erection  of  the  house 
was  preparatory  to  his  assumption  of  the  duties  of  that  office.  It  was  his  home 
during  the  time  which  he  spent  in  America.  For  many  subsequent  years  it  was 
used  as  a  provincial  Government  Building,  and  from  it  there  was  dispensed  that 


THE  PENN  HOUSE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


17 


wholesome  policy,  dictated  by  Penn,  which  held  the  unwavering  friendship  of  the 
natives,  and  of  which  the  present  substantial  condition  of  the  Keystone  State,  both 
in  morals  and  finance,  is  in  no  small  degree  the  result.  On  account  of  its  great 
historical  interest,  the  house  has  been  removed  from  its  original  site  on  Letitia 
Court,  and  now  stands  near  the  entrance  of  the  Lansdowne  Drive. 

The  third  picture  of  the  group  is  that  of  an  ancient  building  on  the  road 
between  Philadelphia  and  Germantown.  It  was  built  in  1727  by  James  Logan, 
the  trusted  and  worthy  agent  of  Pennsylvania’s  first  governor,  and  received  from 
him  the  name  of  “Stenton,”  which  it  still  bears.  Its  rooms  have  been  the  scene 
of  many  a  meeting  of  the  old  provincial  council,  in  the  days  when  the  American 
colonies  were  feeling  the  vibrations  of  repeated  revolutions  in  the  mother  country. 
They  have  looked,  also,  on  many  a  gathering  of  dusky  natives,  giving  them  shelter 
and  welcome,  and  gaining  from  them  a  faith  and  friendship,  for  lack  of  which  the 
other  colonies  often  suffered  severely.  The  house  was  used  as  headquarters  by 
General  Howe  during  the  battle  of  Germantown. 


Stenton. 


FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  NATION. 


>o^° 


THE  first  meeting-house  at  Salem  is  the  oldest  church  building  now  standing 
anywhere  on  the  soil  of  the  original  thirteen  colonies.  It  was  built  as 
early  as  1634,  the  church  having  been  organized  several  years  previously. 

Religious  services  were 
held  in  the  building  until 
1670.  During  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  ninety  years  it 

was  used  by  the  town 
for  secular  purposes.  In 
1760  it  was  turned  into 
a  sort  of  tavern  or  res¬ 
taurant.  A  century  later 
—  in  1864  —  it  was  taken 
down,  but  was  saved  from 
destruction  by  the  late 

Francis  Peabody,  who 
had  the  sacred  timbers 
put  together  again,  fitted 
into  their  original  mor¬ 
tices  and  carefully  cov¬ 
ered.  It  stands  to-day  in 
the  rear  of  the  Essex 
Institute,  and  is  a  most 

First  Meeting-House,  Salem.  .  .  . 

suggestive  reminder  of 

the  simple  and  sturdy  beginnings  of  our  American  republic. 

The  old  town-house  of  Marblehead  was  erected  in  1727.  We  are  told  that 
in  this  building  “Judge  Story  went  to  school  and  fitted  for  college,”  and  that  here 

“much  treason  was  hatched  up  against  King  George.”  It  has  been  in  use  as  a 

town-house  for  a  century  and  three-quarters,  —  a  longer  continuous  service  in  this 
capacity  than  that  of  any  other  building  in  the  country.  The  historic  old  town  has 
new  and  handsome  public  buildings,  but  no  other  in  which  she  feels  so  much  pride 
as  in  this. 


18 


/ 


,  :  .  . . ...  j:jah  an  t  ■  ■  .■  am 


1 


MASSACHUSETTS  HALL,  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


19 


Massachusetts  Hall  at  Harvard  is  the  oldest  remaining  building  of  the  first 
college  founded  in  the  country.  Harvard  University  was  begun  in  1638  ;  Massachu¬ 
setts  Hall  was  built  in  1720.  It  was  occupied  for  a  time  by  American  Revolutionary 
soldiers. 

These  three  old  buildings,  at  first  thought  seemingly  so  different,  belong  naturally 
in  one  group.  They  symbolize  education,  patriotism,  religion.  Each  of  these  in 
America  is  independent  of  the  others,  yet  all  are  interdependent,  and  together  they 
constitute  the  glorious  trinity  of  our  national  freedom.  Neither  alone  is  freedom  ;  yet 
each  is  of  the  essence  of  freedom,  and  all  together  are  freedom.  This  was  the 
foundation  which  our  fathers  laid  with  labor  and  sacrifice,  and  upon  it  they  reared 
their  superstructure,  broad,  spacious,  lofty,  a  goodly  heritage  for  us  their  children. 
The  winds  of  discontent  have  beaten  upon  it,  and  the  floods  of  opposition  have  dashed 
against  it ;  but  it  still  stands,  for  it  was  founded  upon  the  rock.  If  we  would  leave  it 
to  our  children  as  we  received  it,  we  must  guard  well  the  foundations.  While  they 
remain  firm,  if  it  be  forever,  the  house  will  stand.  Let  them  not  be  undermined. 
The  deadliest  foes  of  a  free  republic,  the  only  foes  whom  v/e  in  our  might  need  fear, 
are  ignorance,  godlessness,  and  indifference  to  our  glorious  privileges.  These  foes 
come  not  from  without :  they  lurk  within  our  borders.  A  standing  army  large  as  Ger¬ 
many’s,  a  modern  navy  formidable  as  England’s,  would  not  avail  against  them.  Our 
safety  is  in  our  adherence  to  the  principles  and  practices  of  the  fathers  in  the  great 
fundamental  truth,  that  without  piety,  intelligence  and  loyalty  a  nation  cannot  endure. 


Marblehead  Town-House. 


BOSTON  AND  LIBERTY. 


- »0>®<Oo - 

IN  1727  the  Third  Congregational  Society  of  Boston  erected  the  building  now 
known  as  the  Old  South  Meeting  House.  The  society  had  been  formed  as 
early  as  1669,  and  this  was  their  second  house  of  worship,  the  former  one, 
a  smaller  building,  having  occupied  the  same  site.  The  Old  South  is  rich  in  historic 

memories.  In  it,  one  Sabbath  morning 
in  1746,  when  the  people  in  terror  were 
awaiting  the  advent  of  the  French  fleet 
under  D’Anville,  the  pastor,  Rev.  Thom¬ 
as  Prince,  uttered  the  prayer  for  pres¬ 
ervation,  which  seemed  to  find  instant 
answer  in  the  awful  storm  that  drove 
the  ships  to  ruin  on  the  Nova  Scotia 
coast.  Two  notable  “  tea-meetings  ” 
were  held  in  the  church  in  1773,  one 
in  November,  the  other  a  month  later. 
Here,  in  1775,  General  Warren  deliv¬ 
ered  his  famous  anniversary  address  on 
the  Boston  Massacre,  unawed  by  the 
British  soldiers  who  surrounded  him. 
After  its  desecration  by  these  soldiers, 
who  converted  it  into  a  riding-school, 
the  building  was  rededicated  in  1782. 
It  is  now  used  as  a  museum  of  colonial 
relics  and  for  an  occasional  lecture. 

Faneuil  Hall,  the  “  Cradle  of  Lib¬ 
erty,”  was  a  gift  to  Boston  from  Peter  Faneuil,  and  was  erected  in  1742.  It  has 
always  been  a  rallying-place  for  American  patriotism.  It  was  the  scene  of  the  real 
“tea-party,”  in  December,  1773,  that  in  the  Old  South  having  been  an  “overflow” 
meeting.  If  it  could  reproduce,  like  the  phonograph,  the  sounds  it  has  heard,  the 
result  would  be  a  strange  medley  indeed.  The  triumphs  of  Freedom  and  the 

coronation  of  kings  have  been  celebrated  in  it.  It  has  echoed  with  the  joyous 

20 


Old  State  House,  Boston. 


THE  OLD  SOUTH  MEETING-HOUSE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


21 


banqueting  of  heroes,  and  has  listened  to  the  solemn  trial  of  men  charged  with 
capital  crimes.  It  has  been  a  theater  for  the  clumsy  ridiculing  of  American  hopes, 
and  a  forum  for  the  impassioned  proclamation  of  American  success. 

The  Old  State  House  is  another  of  the  buildings  of  Boston  which  preserves 
the  memory  of  “the  times  that  tried  men’s  souls.’’  In  it  were  held  those  town 
meetings  at  which  James  Otis  advocated  the  colonial  cause  with  such  effective 
eloquence.  The  Boston  Massacre  occurred  in  the  street  before  it.  Independence 
was  born  within  its  walls,  according  to  Governor  Adams ;  and  from  its  balcony  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  to  the  people. 

Church,  Hall  and  State  House  !  Each  in  its  own  sphere  always  becomes  a 
symbol  of  the  dominant  qualities  of  the  people  who  use  it ;  and  these  three  build¬ 
ings,  known  far  and  wide  as  the  emblems  of  liberty,  express  the  very  heart  and 
genius  of  early  New  England  life.  They  are  monuments  of  a  people  who  were 
being  moulded  in  religion  and  in  politics  by  the  spirit  of  freedom. 


Faneuil  Hall. 


RICHMOND  AND  FREEDOM. 


- oo> SKoo - 

IN  1785  the  distinguished  French  sculptor,  Jean  Antoine  Houdon,  was  engaged 
by  the  Virginia  legislature  to  make  for  the  State  a  marble  statue  of  Gen¬ 
eral  George  Washington.  Exact  measurements  of  Washington’s  person  were 
secured  and  sent  to  Houdon.  Later  he  came  to  America  to  study  his  distinguished 
subject  from  life,  and  spent  considerable  time  at  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  made  a 

plaster  cast  of  Washington’s 
face  and  a  model  of  his  bust. 
He  then  returned  to  Paris  and 
completed  his  work.  The  statue, 
which  is  life-size,  is  more  nearly 
a  perfect  reproduction  of  the 
face  and  figure  of  Washington 
than  any  other  statue  or  paint¬ 
ing  in  existence.  It  stands  in 
the  rotunda  of  the  State  capitol 
at  Richmond,  and  is  perhaps 
the  object  of  most  reverential 
interest  in  that  historic  city. 
The  stone  house  shown  in  this 
group,  which  stands  on  Main 
Street,  is  the  oldest  building  in 
Richmond,  and  is  associated 
with  the  names  of  Washington  and  Lafayette  in  connection  with  Yorktown. 

Another  of  the  city’s  priceless  heirlooms,  in  which  the  whole  nation  claims  a 
share,  is  old  St.  John’s  Church,  where  the  Virginia  convention  met,  March  20,  1775. 
When  resolutions,  which  practically  meant  war,  were  introduced,  many  of  the  dele¬ 
gates  hesitated.  The  heroic  spirit  of  Patrick  Henry  was  stirred  to  its  depths  by  this 
appearance  of  lukewarmness  in  Liberty’s  cause.  He  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  poured 
out  his  very  soul  in  a  torrent  of  impassioned  eloquence,  closing  with  the  words,  —  “  Is 
life  so  dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and  slavery? 

Forbid  it,  Almighty  God.  I  know  not  what  course  others  may  take ;  but,  as  for  me, 

22 


HOUDON’S  STATUE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


23 


give  me  liberty,  or  give  me  death.”  The  power  of  the  appeal  was  irresistible.  The 
resolutions  were  passed.  A  committee  of  safety  was  appointed.  Virginia  began  to 
prepare  for  war.  In  the  course  of  his  speech  Henry  had  uttered  the  prophetic 
sentence,  “The  next  gale  that  comes  from  the  north  will  bring  to  our  ears  the 
clash  of  arms.”  When  it  came,  borne  on  the  wings  of  the  April  winds  from  Lex¬ 
ington,  thanks  to  him,  Virginia  was  listening  and  was  ready. 

The  name  of  Patrick  Henry  always  will  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by 
the  American  people.  He  was  not  president,  he  was  not  general ;  yet  his  place 
is  in  the  foremost  rank  of  those  we  honor  as  the  leaders  of  the  Revolution.  He 
was  the  orator  of  liberty,  the  herald  of  freedom,  the  prophet  of  independence.  His 
mission  —  and  not  Washington  himself  could  perform  it  —  was  to  kindle,  with 
sparks  from  the  heaven-born  fire  of  his  eloquence,  a  flame  of  patriotism  in  the 
hearts  of  the  entire  people  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  and  thus  make  possible  that 
war  which  Washington  was  to  lead  to  its  glorious  issue. 


St.  John’s  Church. 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL. 


O^c 


A  I  A0  the  patriotic  heart  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia  is  a  sacred  shrine 
It  is  the  American  Runnymede.  Within  its  walls  the  Declaration  of  Inde¬ 
pendence  was  signed,  and  our  national  Constitution  drawn  up  and  approved. 
It  is  an  antiquated  structure,  neither  beautiful  in  design  nor  remarkable  in  workman¬ 
ship.  But,  0,  think  what  scenes  have  tran¬ 
spired  beneath  its  roof!  think  what  deeds 
have  been  wrought,  and  what  destinies  fixed, 
at  its  council  table  !  and  enter  it  reverently. 
The  spirit  of  the  fathers  will  meet  you  in  its 
rooms.  One  by  one  there  will  gather  about 
you  the  men  who  wrote  their  names  on  the 
Declaration  of  our  country’s  freedom.  You 
shall  see  their  faces,  touched  with  the 
shadow  of  approaching  conflict,  stern  with 
the  lines  of  an  unconquerable  purpose,  and 
yet  transfigured  in  the  holy  fire  of  their 
awakened  manhood.  You  shall  hear  their 
words,  —  the  words  of  men  who  realize  the 
sacred  responsibilities  of  the  hour.  You  shall 
see  them  kneel  in  reverent  prayer,  commit¬ 
ting  their  cause  to  him  who  made  them 
men,  and  so  commanded  them  to  be  free. 
You  shall  stand  there  in  the  awful  stillness, 
and  see  them,  one  by  one,  write  down  their 
names  on  that  which  must  be  the  Charter  of  their  country’s  freedom,  or  the  death- 
warrant  of  those  who  sign.  And  then  you  shall  see  what  is  hidden  from  their 
eyes:  —  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  the  God  of  truth  and  right,  puts  on  the  scroll  the 
Great  Seal  of  Heaven,  and  makes  the  purpose  sure.  It  is  a  holy  place. 

Here,  too,  you  find  the  old  Liberty  Bell.  In  all  the  world  there  is  not  another 
with  such  a  history.  It  was  cast  in  London  in  1752.  In  the  order  for  it,  sent  by 
direction  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  bell  should  bear 

24 


Liberty  Bell. 


/ 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL, 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


25 


the  following  inscription  “  in  large  letters  shaped  around  it,  viz. :  .  .  .  ‘  Proclaim 
Liberty  throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof.’  Lev.  xxv.  10.”  A 
strange  inscription,  surely,  but  a  prophetic  one.  Twenty-five  years  afterwards,  when 
the  public  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  fired  the  hearts  of  the 
people  with  a  spirit  of  patriotism  that  was  ready  to  sweep  everything  before  it,  the 
deep  tones  of  this  old  bell  for  two  hours  gave  voice  to  their  rejoicing,  and  spread 
the  news  of  what  had  been  done.  That  was  its  real  mission.  The  strange  prophecy 
of  its  inscription  was  fulfilled.  As  long  as  the  nation  shall  continue,  the  bell  will  be 
remembered  and  revered  for  the  part  it  played  in  the  great  crisis  of  our  national  history. 

They  are  casting  another  Liberty  Bell  now  at  the  Columbian  World’s  Fair.  It 
is  to  be  larger  than  the  old  one,  but  otherwise  its  counterpart ;  and  very  fittingly  it  is 
to  be  made  in  part  of  precious  ornaments  and  relics, — the  freewill  offerings  of  the 
people.  May  the  casting  be  a  true  prophetic  symbol.  Out  of  all  the  confusion  of 
our  national  life  may  there  grow  a  freedom,  larger  than  that  of  a  century  ago,  if  not 
more  intense  ;  sweeter  in  tone,  it  may  be,  too,  and  with  no  break  such  as  came  in 
the  old;  but  still  the  same  in  substance,  true  to  the  same  flag,  subject  —  and  subject 
only — to  the  same  God. 


Independence  Hall,  from  Chestnut  Street. 


LEXINGTON. 


■Oi^OO 


TO  appreciate  this  group  of  pictures  one  must  see  them  in  the  surroundings  they 
had  a  century  ago.  Reduce  Boston  to  the  dimensions  and  condition  of  a  pro¬ 
vincial  town.  Make  Lexington  and  Concord  little  country  villages ;  and 

let  the  district  between 
\W$L  them  and  Boston  be  so 

sparsely  settled,  that  the 
routed  soldiers  of  Smith 
and  Percy  are  in  continual 
ambush  until  covered  by 
the  guns  of  their  own 
ships  in  Boston  harbor. 

Then,  too,  in  place 
of  the  commercial  spirit 
which  rules  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  day,  substitute  one  in 
which  the  heroic  elements 
are  uppermost.  See  a 
nation  just  awakening  to 
the  consciousness  of  its 
own  individuality;  the  peo- 
T  pie  discussing  at  every 

fireside,  and  in  every  place 
The  oid  North  church.  of  public  meeting,  the  fun¬ 

damental  questions  of  human  freedom  ;  and  feeling  the  first  deep  inspiration  of  faith 
in  their  country  and  in  themselves.  Only  thus  can  we  interpret  aright  the  Old 
North  Church,  Lexington  Green  and  Concord  Bridge. 

The  historic  facts  connected  with  the  group  are  so  familiar  that  they  may  be 
told  in  very  few  words.  General  Gage,  commanding  the  British  forces  at  Boston, 
sends  out  a  detachment  of  soldiers  to  destroy  some  military  stores,  which  the 
colonists  have  gathered  at  Concord.  His  plan  has  become  known,  however,  to 
some  of  the  leading  patriots  of  the  vicinity ;  and  when  the  expedition  starts,  in  the 


26 


/ 


008  8? 1 1 24sl 893  mauaf  000  0  eng 


. 


090  __|a  El  59  |b  C62  ; 

desc  ?  text  by  Gr  . 


UwS  GVi.O'-'ii- 


651  _0  la  United  Stat  s  |x  P  c 

. 

CONCORD  BRIDGE 


bJUCaflDfeL. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


27 


night  of  April  18,  1775,  it  is  preceded  by  two  couriers,  Paul  Revere  and  William 
Dawes,  who  have  been  apprised  by  the  hanging  out  of  two  lanterns  from  the 
steeple  of  the  North  Church  that  the  English  are  going  by  way  of  Charlestown 
Neck,  and  who  ride  at  breakneck  speed  to  warn  the  people  along  the  route  of 
their  coming.  As  a  result,  when  the  “  regulars  ”  arrive  at  Lexington  on  the  following 
morning,  there  is  a  short,  sharp  skirmish  on  the  Green,  and  a  few  hours  later, 
another  in  Concord,  at  the  Bridge.  A  few  men  on  each  side  are  killed.  The 
British  are  forced  to  retreat ;  and,  in  spite  of  their  superior  discipline,  the  retreat, 
once  begun,  soon  changes  to  utter  rout. 

That  is  all.  And  yet  that  is  not  all.  Put  these  pictures  back  into  their  own 
surroundings ;  study  them  thoughtfully ;  and  as  you  look,  you  will  see  through  them, 
more  clearly  than  you  could  from  any  other  point,  one  of  those  great  conflicts 
which  have  shaken  the  world.  On  the  one  side  there  will  be  numbers,  discipline, 
wealth,  everything  human  which  would  seem  to  foreshadow  success.  And  on  the 
other  side  there  will  be  poverty,  suffering,  hope,  faith,  everlasting  justice  and  God 
Almighty. 


Lexington  Green. 


TICONDEROGA  AND  CROWN  POINT. 


NOWHERE  within  the  domain  of  the  United  States  is  there  another  section 
of  country  of  equal  extent  around  which  clusters  more  of  the  romance  of 
history  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  Champlain  Valley.  Its  waters,  from 
the  time  of  their  discovery,  formed  for  two  centuries  the  easy,  and  practically  the 

only,  route  of  travel  through  the  wilder¬ 
ness  which  separated  the  French  settle¬ 
ments  in  Canada  from  the  English  and 
Dutch  settlements  in  New  York.  It  was 
inevitable  that  there  should  be  a  struggle 
for  the  possession  of  this  natural  water¬ 
way,  through  which,  in  either  direction, 
might  flow  the  tide  of  invasion.  This 
struggle  could  be  suspended  only  while 
the  contestants  were  recuperating  their 
wasted  energies,  and  could  cease  only 
when  one  or  the  other  had  achieved 
a  complete  and  permanent  victory.  To¬ 
day  this  beautiful  valley  seems  the  typ¬ 
ical  “valley  of  peace.”  Its  waters  are 
dotted  with  the  white  sails  of  pleasure- 
yachts,  and  fringed  by  verdant  pastures 
where  feed  the  farmer’s  contented  herds, 
and  by  green  orchards  musical  with  the 
summer  song-birds,  while  the  only  harsh 
note  to  break  the  restful  quiet  is  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  or  excursion  boat. 
But  as  you  listen  to  the  stories  and  legends  of  the  valley,  the  scene  is  changed. 
You  seem  to  see  upon  the  lake  the  bateaux  of  the  French  invaders  and  the 
canoes  of  their  Indian  allies.  The  orchards  become  again  a  wilderness,  and  the 
pastures  are  shaded  by  giant  trees.  The  rustle  of  the  moving  leaves  startles  you 
with  its  suggestion  of  the  soft  footsteps  of  stealthy  savages,  the  calls  of  the  birds 

become  their  signals,  and  the  shrill  steam-whistle  their  awful  war-whoop. 

28 


Ethan  Allen  Monument,  Burlington,  Vt. 


RUINS  OF  FORT  TICONDEROGA. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS 


29 


The  chief  centers  of  the  valley’s  romantic  history  are  the  two  old  forts, 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  Commanding  the  waterway,  they  were  held  and 
besieged  alternately  by  the  opposing  armies.  Time  and  again  they  witnessed  the 
concentration  of  ail  the  available  force  of  either  combatant,  while  they  awaited  the 
issue  of  the  conflict  which  was  to  determine  the  nature  of  a  continent’s  civilization. 

The  first  picture  of  this  group  brings  to  mind  a  personality  as  picturesque 
and  romantic  as  the  valley  itself  which  was  his  home.  Possessed  of  remarkable 
physical  powers,  self-reliant,  quick-witted,  and  brave  to  the  verge  of  rashness,  Ethan 
Allen  was  fitted  for  the  successful  performance  of  the  heroic  exploit  which  has  made 
his  name  forever  famous.  It  was  he  who,  with  only  eighty-three  followers  and 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  life,  captured  Fort  Ticonderoga,  startling  the  ears  of  the 
bewildered  Delaplace  with  the  summons  to  surrender  “  in  the  name  of  the  Great 
Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress.” 


Crown  Point. 


BUNKER  HILL. 


THE  historic  fact  to  which  this  group  of  pictures  calls  attention  has  a  peren¬ 
nial  interest  for  every  true  American  heart.  It  is  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
fought  June  17,  1775.  The  monument,  a  plain,  granite  obelisk,  221  feet 
high,  marks  the  place  where  the  colonists  intrenched  themselves  on  the  night  before 
the  battle  ;  from  which,  with  terrible  slaughter,  they  twice  repelled  the  assault  of 
their  enemies ;  and  from  which  they  retreated  only  when  their  ammunition  had 

become  exhausted.  In  the 
burying-ground  on  Copp’s 
Hill  there  was  planted  a 
British  battery,  which  dur¬ 
ing  the  battle  shelled  and 
set  fire  to  Charlestown. 
The  house  was  the  home 
in  Peppered  of  Colonel 
William  Prescott,  who 
commanded  the  colonial 
militia  during  the  engage¬ 
ment. 

And  why  should  so 
much  be  made,  in  Amer¬ 
ican  history  and  in  Amer¬ 
ican  thought,  of  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill?  Why  should  its  site  be  marked  with  such  a  shaft  as  this,  erected 
by  the  nation,  and  dedicated  in  the  presence  of  her  chief  magistrate  and  his  cabinet, 
with  booming  cannon  and  waving  flags,  and  with  the  impassioned  eloquence  of  her 
most  gifted  orator?  Why  should  its  anniversary  be  celebrated  year  after  year,  till 
the  third  and  fourth  generations  from  those  who  participated  in  it? 

Because  it  was  the  hour  of  the  birth  of  the  national  spirit  in  the  hearts  of  the 
colonists.  The  British  soldiery,  whom  they  resisted  on  April  19  at  Lexington  and 
Concord,  represented  to  them  their  rulers ;  —  oppressive  rulers  no  doubt,  rulers 
whose  tyrannical  action  they  felt  driven  by  their  very  manhood  to  resist ;  but  still 

30 


BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


31 


their  rulers.  In  the  two  months  intervening  between  those  fierce  skirmishes  and 
the  battle  of  the  17th  of  June  a  great  change  had  been  wrought.  The  people  had 
been  thinking,  —  thinking  under  the  awful  compulsion  of  the  unbearable  conditions 
in  which  the  arrogant,  foolhardy  oppression  of  King  George  and  his  advisers  had 
placed  them.  And  as  a  result,  the  intrenchments,  which  Prescott  and  his  brave 
minute  men  had  thrown  up  during  the  preceding  night,  separated  them  on  the 
morning  of  the  battle,  not  from  rulers  whom  duty  called  them  to  resist,  but  from 
enemies  whom  God  Himself  required  them  to  overcome,  the  enemies  of  their  firesides 
and  their  families,  the  assailants  of  the  rights  which  they  held  as  free-born  men. 

And  further ;  because  it  was  the  hour  of  the  triumph  of  the  heroic  spirit  in  the 
colonial  heart.  That  spirit  had  been  awakened  in  the  first  settlers  of  the  country 
by  the  very  circumstances  which  had  driven  them  to  seek  a  home  on  this  side  of 
the  ocean.  It  had  been  developed  in  their  descendants  by  the  hardships  and 
perils  with  which  they  had  been  forced  to  contend  in  a  new  country.  But  when, 
goaded  to  revolt,  they  forgot  their  poverty  and  the  insignificance  of  their  numbers, 
and  flung  themselves  into  the  struggle  for  freedom,  then  the  heroic  spirit  became 
the  controlling  one  and  immortalized  their  patriotism  by  the  deeds  to  which  it  led. 


Copp’s  Hill  Burying-Ground. 


WASHINGTON  AT  CAMBRIDGE. 


0^0 


ON  the  tenth  of  May,  1775,  Washington  was  appointed  by  the  Continental 
Congress  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army.  July  3d,  under 
the  shadow  of  the  famous  elm  on  Cambridge  Common,  he  took  formal 

command  of  the  troops. 
The  event  is  commemo¬ 
rated  by  a  marble  slab, 
erected  under  the  tree 
and  suitably  inscribed.  A 
short  distance  from  the 
spot  is  the  old  mansion  in 
which  he  had  his  head¬ 
quarters  until  the  evacua¬ 
tion  of  Boston  by  the  Brit¬ 
ish  changed  the  seat  of  war 
to  New  York  and  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  Subsequently  it 
was  for  many  years  the 
home  of  the  poet  Longfel¬ 
low  Dorchester  Heights 
is  a  hill  south  of  Boston, 
which  Washington  seized 
on  the  night  of  March  4th, 
1776,  and  which  gave  his 
guns  such  excellent  com¬ 
mand  of  the  harbor  and 
the  town  that  on  the 
seventeenth  of  the  month  General  Howe  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  place,  sail¬ 
ing  with  all  his  fleet  and  troops  for  Halifax. 

Genius  is  not  only  immortal  itself,  but  it  immortalizes  that  which  is  brought 
into  contact  with  it ;  and  this  is  especially  true  when  its  quality  is  such  as  to  awaken 
love  as  well  as  to  command  respect.  We  have  here  an  old  tree,  a  commonplace 


Washington  Elm. 


IffiffilS 


WASHINGTON'S  HEADQUARTERS,  CAMBRIDGE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


33 


house,  and  a  hill  noticeable  neither  for  its  height  nor  for  its  picturesqueness ;  yet 
the  fact  that  they  mark  points  of  interest  and  importance  in  the  life  of  Washington 
completely  changes  their  character.  It  invests  them  with  an  interest  which  they 
could  possess  under  no  other  conditions.  They  have  been  transfigured  by  contact 
with  one  whom  Americans  regard  with  feelings  of  mingled  reverence  and  love. 

The  house  is  sacred  because  it  sheltered  him,  because  in  it  his  genius  began 
to  formulate  the  plans,  which  bore  their  first  ripe  fruit  on  Dorchester  Heights,  and 
which  changed  the  whole  history  of  the  country.  Its  walls  looked  down  on  him 
in  his  study,  his  prayer,  his  rest.  Its  rooms  echoed  with  his  voice  and  his  foot¬ 
steps.  Not  an  old  house,  merely ;  but  the  home  of  Washington,  his  home  during 
the  first  months  of  that  awful  struggle  of  which,  in  the  reverent  affection  of  multi¬ 
plying  millions  of  people,  he  is  forever  the  hero. 

Only  an  old  elm  —  ?  Nay,  but  it  is  more  than  that.  It  is  the  tree  which  long 
ago  spread  its  branches  in  benediction  over  this  deliverer  of  his  country,  in  one  of 
the  solemn  hours  of  his  life.  The  rain  and  the  snow,  the  verdure  and  the  barrenness 
of  many  summers  and  winters  have  passed  over  it  since  then ;  but  in  the  rustle 
of  its  leaves  and  the  creaking  of  its  gnarled  limbs  there  will  always  be  to  the  ear 
and  to  the  heart  of  the  true  patriot  a  lingering  echo  of  the  words  he  spoke  as  he 
gave  himself  that  day  to  his  country,  for  better  or  for  worse,  till  death  should  sever 
the  bond. 


Dorchester  Heights. 


LONG  ISLAND. 


BROOKLYN  is  to-day  the  city  of  commerce  and  churches,  of  homes  and 
parks  ;  yet,  in  our  admiration  of  its  wealth  and  beauty,  we  should  not  lose 
sight  of  the  old  landmarks  of  patriotism  which  it  contains.  Let  them  serve 
to  bring  the  past  with  its  heroic  spirit  and  noble  achievement  closer  to  us,  and  to 
keep  us,  in  spite  of  the  sordid  aims  and  selfish  methods  which  modern  life  would 

force  upon  us,  in  touch  with  those 
who  won  the  nation's  freedom  by 
laying  themselves  on  her  altar. 

Washington  Park,  in  the 
heart  of  the  city,  occupies  the  site 
of  old  Fort  Greene,  and  on  one 
side  of  it,  under  the  terraces  of 
granite,  are  buried  the  American 
soldiers  who  died  in  “the  Black 
Hole”  of  the  Revolution,  —  a 
British  prison  -  ship  anchored  in 
the  East  River. 

Prospect  Park,  comprising 
over  five  hundred  acres,  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  pleasure- 
grounds  in  the  world.  It  was 
the  scene,  August  27,  1776,  of 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Long 
Island,  in  which  the  American 
Battle  Pass.  troops  were  defeated  through  fail¬ 

ure  to  carry  out  the  orders  of 
General  Washington  for  the  guarding  of  the  passes  at  one  side  of  their  position. 
The  great  commander  reached  the  field  before  the  battle  was  over,  and  by  his  con¬ 
summate  military  skill,  and  the  inspiration  which  his  presence  brought  to  the  troops, 
prevented  defeat  from  becoming  destruction.  In  a  few  hours  he  had  the  shattered 
forces  reorganized,  and  ready  in  the  trenches  back  of  Brooklyn  to  resist  any  assault 


FORT  GREENE,  BROOKLYN 


. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


35 


which  Lord  Howe’s  troops  might  make.  Two  days  afterwards,  taking  advantage 
of  a  heavy  fog  which  hung  over  the  island,  and  of  the  sluggish  disposition  of  General 
Howe,  Washington  successfully  transported  his  whole  army  to  the  New  York  side 
of  the  river,  accomplishing,  in  the  very  face  of  a  superior  and  victorious  force,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  retreats  in  the  annals  of  war.  A  tablet  in  what  is  known 
as  “  Battle  Pass  ”  commemorates  this  engagement.  It  recalls  one  of  the  most 
critical  periods  of  the  great  struggle  for  freedom,  —  a  time  when  the  patriots  were 
upheld  only  by  the  knowledge  of  the  absolute  righteousness  of  their  cause,  and 
consequent  faith  in  its  ultimate  triumph.  It  is  well  named  “Battle  Pass,”  —  a 
pass  through  dark,  disheartening  defeat  to  the  broader,  brighter  place  of  permanent 
victory. 

The  conversion  of  these  old  battle-fields  into  their  present  condition,  each  one 
of  them  a  garden  of  delights,  suggests  the  thought  and  awakens  the  hope  that  the 
world’s  battle-fields  and  battle-spirit  may  all,  ere  long,  be  similarly  transformed. 
The  deepest  instincts  of  humanity  plead  for  the  change,  and  some  day  it  must  come. 

T 


Tomb  of  Revolutionary  Soldiers. 


SHRINES  IN  BUSIEST  NEW  YORK. 


ITH  the  exception  of  the  ground  on  which  stand  the  national  buildings 
at  Washington,  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  in  America  another 
equal  area  so  rich  in  historic  memories,  as  that  busiest  part  of  New 
York  City,  in  which,  with  feverish  throb,  beats  the  heart  of  our  country’s  com- 


St.  Paul’s  Church. 

Mansion,  which  in  1776  was  the  headquarters  of  General  Putnam,  and  after¬ 
wards  of  the  British  commanders,  —  General  Gage,  Lord  Cornwallis,  General 
Howe  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  At  number  5  Broadway  was  the  home,  for  a 
time,  of  the  infamous  Benedict  Arnold.  At  number  9  of  the  same  street  stood 
the  famous  Burns  Coffee-house,  in  which  the  New  York  merchants  pledged 
themselves  to  import  no  more  goods  from  the  mother  country  until  the  Stamp 
Act  should  be  repealed.  It  was  here  that  the  New  York  “tea  party”  was  held, 
which  resulted  in  the  “Mohawks’”  piloting  the  Nancy  with  her  obnoxious  cargo 
down  the  harbor. 


merce  On  a  hundred  acres  here  are 
a  hundred  spots  hallowed  by  their  past 
associations. 

Bowling  Green,  a  pretty  oval  park, 
lies  in  the  very  center  of  this  historic 
interest,  and  is  itself  sacred  ground. 
Here  in  1770  was  erected  by  the 
citizens,  in  grateful  recognition  of  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  that  leaden 
statue  of  King  George,  which,  only  six 
years  later,  their  hearts  fired  by  the 
public  reading  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  they  pulled  down  to 
be  made  over  into  bullets  for  King 
George’s  own  soldiers 

On  the  west  side  of  Bowling 
Green,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by 
the  Field  Building,  was  the  Kennedy 


36 


CITY  HALL  PARK,  NEW  YORK 


'  i«r*  :«-■»  t#^»  lr^»  !»»  ; 
bn  •  m  i^~»  *■»»  ■ 


BMM 

<H  N 

©»l-l 


Iff 

iL_| 

s 

gjsp- 

■  4 

■  (| 

2*’ 

tfeS; 

-  i 

AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


37 


City  Hall  Park,  at  the  northern  boundary  of  old  New  York,  was  originally  a 
part  of  that  lot  of  land  named  “The  Fields.”  Like  Boston  Common,  it  has  been 
the  scene  of  many  stirring  events.  On  the  east  side  of  the  park,  adjoining  the 
entrance  to  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  is  an  ancient  building,  a  mock  Temple  of  Diana, 
used  at  the  present  time  as  the  Registrar’s  Office.  During  the  Revolution 
thousands  of  patriots  were  imprisoned  here,  many  of  whom  died  of  fever  and 
starvation,  while  many  others  were  hanged  by  the  brutal  jailer  Cunningham. 

Old  St.  Paul’s,  a  chapel  of  Trinity  parish,  built  in  1766,  stands  on  the  west 
side  of  Broadway,  next  to  the  Astor  House.  In  the  rear  wall  of  the  building  are 
the  tomb  and  memorial  tablet  of  the  brave  patriot,  General  Richard  Mont¬ 
gomery,  who  fell  in  the  attack  upon  Quebec,  December  31,  1775.  In  front  of 
the  church  is  a  monument  erected  in  his  honor  by  Congress.  But  the  old 
church  is  rich  in  memories  of  a  greater  even  than  Montgomery ;  for  here 
Washington  used  to  worship,  when  public  duties  required  his  presence  in  New 
York. 


Bowling  Green. 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 

- 0-0^00 - 

THE  Jumel  House,  on  Washington  Heights,  New  York,  is  so  called  because 
it  was  once  the  property  of  the  wealthy  Madame  Jumel,  who,  in  1834, 
became  the  second  wife  of  Aaron  Burr.  The  principal  interest  of  the 
place  to-day,  however,  centers  in  the  fact  that  it  was  the  headquarters  of  General 
Washington  during  the  time  that  the  American  army  occupied  the  heights  in  the 

neighborhood  of  New 
York  City. 

The  Livingston 
Manor  House  at 
Dobb’s  Ferry,  by  its 
name  and  associa¬ 
tions,  reminds  us  of 
the  unsuccessful  at¬ 
tempt  to  establish  on 
the  soil  of  the  New 
World  the  customs 
and  methods  of  Old- 
World  feudalism. 
Like  the  Jumel 
House,  its  chief  in¬ 
terest  for  us,  how¬ 
ever,  lies  in  its 

connection  with  the  memory  of  the  great  commander  of  the  Revolution.  It  was 
his  headquarters  for  a  time  during  the  long  progress  of  the  war  in  New  York 
State.  Here  also  was  held  the  conference  between  Washington,  Governor  Clinton 
and  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  which  resulted  in  the  evacuation  of  New  York  City  by  the 
British,  November  25,  1783. 

The  Hasbrouch  House  is  at  Newburg  on  the  Hudson,  about  fifty  miles  above 
New  York.  It  stands  in  the  midst  of  well-kept  and  attractive  grounds,  on  an 
eminence  overlooking  the  river.  The  house,  which  has  been  carefully  preserved, 
is  the  depository  of  many  interesting  and  valuable  relics  of  Revolutionary  and 
colonial  times.  It  was  here  that  Washington  had  his  headquarters  during  the  spring 

38 


Livingston  Manor  House. 


THE  JUMEL  HOUSE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


39 


of  1783,  when  occurred  the  famous  episode  of  the  Newburg  addresses.  There 
was  in  the  American  army  at  the  time  deep  and  widespread  discontent  on  account 
of  the  neglect  or  inability  of  Congress  to  settle  the  arrears  of  pay,  or  adequately 
provide  for  the  present  needs,  of  the  soldiers.  The  evident  design  of  the  addresses 
was  to  foment  this  discontent  till  it  should  break  out  into  open  insubordination  and 
rebellion.  Washington,  when  apprized  of  the  movement,  determined  to  direct  and 
control  it.  He  called  a  meeting  of  his  officers  to  consider  the  situation.  He  pre¬ 
pared  an  address,  severe,  yet  mild,  in  its  rebuke,  and  breathing  the  deepest  solicitude 
for  the  welfare  of  both  his  country  and  his  soldiers.  As  he  adjusted  his  spectacles 
preparatory  to  reading  the  address,  he  quietly  remarked:  “You  see,  gentlemen,  that 
I  have  grown,  not  only  gray,  but  blind,  in  your  service.”  The  effect  of  the  remark 
was  magical,  and  the  patriotic  appeal  which  followed  produced  the  desired  result. 

It  is  a  reason  for  national  gratitude  that,  along  the  line  of  Washington’s  cam¬ 
paigns  from  Cambridge  to  Yorktown,  here  and  there  can  still  be  seen  a  landmark 
like  either  of  these  old  houses,  standing  a  solitary  sentinel  to  guard  the  memory 
of  the  presence  and  prowess  of  the  man  to  whom,  above  all  others,  the  American 
people  are  indebted. 


Hasbrouch  House. 


BURGOYNE’S  SURRENDER. 


BURGOYNE’S  invasion  of  New  York  in  1777  was,  from  a  military  point  of 
view,  the  grandest  scheme  undertaken  by  the  British  during  the  Revolu¬ 
tionary  War.  Its  success  would  have  involved,  almost  inevitably,  the  imme¬ 
diate  and  complete  subjection  of  the  colonies  to  the  rule  which,  a  year  before,  they 

had  so  bravely  repudiated. 

Starting  from  St.  Johns  on  the  Sorel 
with  a  well-equipped  force  of  about  eight 
thousand  men,  Burgoyne  was  to  follow 
the  Lake  Champlain  route ;  Colonel  St. 
Leger  with  a  large  body  of  Canadians, 
Tories  and  Indians,  passing  around 
through  Lake  Ontario  to  Oswego,  was  to 
meet  him  on  the  Hudson  by  way  of  the 
Mohawk  valley ;  while  General  Clinton 
with  all  his  available  troops  was  to  ascend 
the  Hudson  from  New  York  City.  They 
were  to  unite  at  Albany,  and  thus  putting 
their  combined  forces  behind  the  rebel¬ 
lion,  were  to  sweep  the  whole  district 
from  the  Hudson  to  the  sea-board,  and 
the  war  would  be  at  an  end. 

The  possibility  of  failure  in  carrying 
out  this  magnificent  plan  does  not  seem 
to  have  entered  General  Burgoyne’s  mind. 
He  certainly  made  no  provision  for  such  a  contingency.  Eleven  months  from  the 
beginning  of  the  campaign,  however,  he  was  on  his  way  back  to  England  with  the 
shattered  remnant  of  his  army,  bound  by  a  solemn  pledge  to  take  no  farther  part 
in  the  war. 

Disaster  after  disaster  befell  his  arms.  Early  in  August  he  sent  an  expedition 
under  Colonel  Baume  into  Vermont  to  obtain  provisions,  “to  try  the  affections  of 
the  country,”  and  to  recruit  his  forces  by  the  enlistment  of  loyalists.  The  result 
was  the  famous  battle  of  Bennington,  in  which  General  Stark  with  a  body  of  brave 


Bennington  Monument. 


THE  GREAT  RAVINE,  BEMIS  HEIGHTS. 


*5 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


41 


men,  largely  untrained  and  hastily  gathered  for  the  service,  practically  annihilated 
Baume’s  command,  and  then  drove  back,  with  the  loss  of  their  artillery  and  many 
prisoners,  the  regiment  under  Breyman,  which  Burgoyne  had  sent  as  a  reinforce¬ 
ment.  August  19,  1891,  the  highest  battle-monument  in  the  world  was  dedicated 
at  Bennington  in  commemoration  of  this  brilliant  victory. 

In  the  meantime  St.  Leger  had  entered  the  Mohawk  valley  and  laid  siege  to 
Fort  Schuyler,  which  was  held  by  a  small 
garrison  under  Colonel  Peter  Gansevoort. 

The  siege  ended,  however,  in  disastrous 
failure.  Finding  themselves  threatened, 
not  only  by  Gansevoort’s  men,  but  also 
by  what  they  supposed  to  be  a  large  army 
under  Arnold,  the  invaders  became  panic- 
stricken,  and  were  soon  fleeing  for  safety 
towards  Oswego. 

A  month  later,  on  Bemis  Heights, 

Burgoyne  attempted  in  vain  to  break  the 
ligature  of  militia  which  had  encircled  him. 

Baffled  and  beaten  back  in  his  first  effort, 
he  rested  a  few  days,  and  then  on  the 
seventh  of  October  renewed  the  attack. 

It  was  his  last  hope.  He  could  not  re¬ 
treat.  Clinton  had  not  arrived.  He  could 
go  forward  to  meet  him  only  by  cutting 
his  way  through  Gates’  army.  The  second 
battle  of  Bemis  Heights  followed,  and  ten 
days  later  Burgoyne  surrendered. 

This  engagement  is  reckoned  by  Creasy  as  one  of  “  the  fifteen  decisive  battles 
of  the  world.”  It  determined  the  history  of  America:  it  changed  the  history  of 
mankind.  Arrogance  and  oppression  never  had  more  at  stake,  and  never  suffered 
a  more  crushing  defeat  at  the  hands  of  awakened  manhood,  than  in  the  campaign 
of  which  it  was  the  culmination  ;  for  Burgoyne’s  surrender  opened  the  way  for  the 
friendly  alliance  with  France,  for  the  advent  of  Lafayette,  for  final  victory,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  new  nation. 


Mf-I'1!' 


Bemis  Heights  Monument. 


WEST  POINT. 


DURING  our  War  for  Independence  the  possession  of  West  Point  was  of 
great  importance  to  both  sides.  It  was  the  key  which,  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  could  lock  the  door  of  communication  between  the  patriots 
of  the  two  sections  of  the  country.  The  Americans,  quick  to  perceive  its  strategic 

value,  seized  and  fortified  the  place 
almost  immediately  upon  the  beginning  of 
hostilities.  It  was  once  captured  by  the 
British,  but  was  held  by  them  only  a 
short  time,  as  they  were  forced  to  aban¬ 
don  it  soon  after  the  surrender  of  General 
Burgoyne  In  1779  the  fortifications 
were  greatly  strengthened  by  General 
Israel  Putnam.  The  place  remained  in 
the  possession  of  the  Americans  through¬ 
out  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

In  1780  it  was  possibly  the  strongest 
fortress,  and  certainly  the  most  valuable 
arsenal,  in  the  country.  At  this  time 
Benedict  Arnold,  brave,  bold,  brilliant  in 
battle,  and  professing  an  unbounded  en¬ 
thusiasm  for  the  patriot  cause,  had  asked, 
and  had  obtained,  command  at  West 
Point.  His  motive  in  seeking  the  trust, 
however,  was  not  glory,  but  gain.  Suc- 
he  succeeded  also  in  making  a  bargain 
with  the  enemy,  whereby  he  should  receive  ten  thousand  pounds  in  British  gold, 
his  price  for  his  honor  and  his  country.  The  plan  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort, 
perfected  during  the  secret  meeting  between  Arnold  the  traitor  and  Andre  the  spy, 
was  thwarted,  when  the  latter,  fleeing  in  disguise,  and  with  proofs  of  the  plot  con¬ 
cealed  upon  his  person,  was  arrested  at  Tarrytown  by  the  incorruptible  patriots, 
John  Paulding,  David  Williams  and  Isaac  Van  Wart, — the  three  famous  privates 

42 


Andre  Capture  Monument. 


cessful  in  securing  command  of  the  fort, 


» 


WEST  POINT. 


■ 

. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


43 


of  the  war.  The  monument,  shown  in  this  group  of  pictures,  marks  the  scene  of 
their  fidelity. 

For  nearly  a  century  the  United  States  Military  Academy  has  been  located 
at  West  Point.  No  better  place  for  the  school  could  have  been  chosen.  Situ¬ 
ated  in  the  very  heart  of  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson,  it  is  as  rich  in  historic 
associations  as  in  natural  beauty.  The  lingering  legends  of  the  warfare  of  Revo¬ 
lutionary  days  and  of  Dutch  settlement  and  discovery  have  surrounded  the  place 
with  a  halo  of  romance  which  is  intensified  by  the  traditions  of  the  school. 

The  site  of  the  Academy  was  selected  by  Congress  in  1802.  President 
Washington,  in  his  annual  message  in  1793,  had  recommended  the  establishment 
of  such  a  school,  and  in  his  last  annual  message,  that  of  1796,  had  urged  the 
matter  again.  He  said,  “  However  pacific  the  general  policy  of  a  nation  may  be, 
it  ought  never  to  be  without  an  adequate  stock  of  military  knowledge  for  emer¬ 
gencies”; —  a  patriotic  and  a  practical  sentiment  which  outlines  the  true  use  and 
purpose  of  West  Point  to-day  as  well  as  it  did  a  hundred  years  ago. 


The  Battery,  West  Point. 


VALLEY  FORGE. 


RED  BANK  is  a  relic  of  one  of  the  most  gallant  struggles  of  the  Revolution. 

Its  guns  assisted  the  patriots  who  held  the  fort  on  Mud  Island  during  its 
six  days’  siege  by  the  British  in  September,  1777,  —  a  veritable  Ther¬ 
mopylae,  —  and  it  gave  shelter  to  the  half-hundred  who  were  left  when  the  fort 

and  the  rest  of  the  garrison  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  British  cannonade. 

Seeing  Howe’s  forces  in  Philadelphia 
weakened  by  the  assault  on  the  forts 
below  the  city,  Washington  attacked  him, 
October  4,  at  Germantown,  The  British 
were  taken  by  surprise,  and,  but  for  con¬ 
fusion  on  the  part  of  Washington’s  officers 
in  executing  his  orders,  the  result  would 
have  been  very  different  from  that  which 
history  records.  As  it  was,  the  enemy 
gained  the  shelter  of  the  Chew  Mansion, 
a  strong  stone  building,  and  in  trying  to 
dislodge  them  from  this,  the  Americans 
gave  time  for  them  to  bring  up  reinforce¬ 
ments,  and  the  battle  was  lost. 

From  Germantown,  Washington  fell 
back  to  Whitemarsh,  and  in  December 
moved  to  Valley  Forge,  twenty  miles  north 
of  Philadelphia,  where  he  went  into  winter 
quarters.  The  season  spent  here  was  the 
darkest  period  of  the  great  general’s  life.  Congress  had  in  a  measure  withdrawn 
support  from  him.  A  miserable  conspiracy  against  him  was  formed  among  his 
officers.  The  people  were  half  inclined  to  distrust  his  leadership.  Above  all, 
his  heart  was  breaking  because  of  the  suffering  condition  of  his  beloved  soldiers. 
They  were  starving.  Their  shoeless  feet  had  marked  with  blood  the  frozen  road 
over  which  they  came  to  Valley  Forge ;  and  in  the  miserable  log  huts,  which  were 

44 


Red  Bank  Monument. 


WASHINGTON’S  HEADQUARTERS,  VALLEY  FORGE. 


**.  * 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


45 


their  only  protection  through  the  long,  hard  winter,  they  were  perishing  with  cold 
as  well  as  with  hunger.  It  was  the  darkest  hour,  too,  for  the  patriot  cause.  The 
enemy  were  strong  and  confident,  and  v/ere  waiting  only  for  the  spring  to  open  that 
they  might  capture  Washington  and  his  men,  and  end  the  rebellion.  It  seemed  as 
if  God  had  forsaken  the  struggling  colonies,  leaving  them  to  fall  again  under  an 
oppression  sure  to  be  more  grinding  than  before.  But  it  proved  to  be  the  turning- 
point  in  the  long  conflict.  With  the  spring  came  the  glad  news  of  an  alliance 
with  France  ;  while  Howe’s  men  were  so  enervated  by  their  winter’s  debauch  in 
Philadelphia  that  when  it  was  over  they  were  fit  only  for  retreat. 

There  are  scenes  in  which  Washington  and  the  army  he  gathered  about  him 
appear  in  the  dazzling  light  of  martial  glory.  It  was  true  bravery  that  put  them 
into  the  struggle.  It  was  the  same  quality  which  held  them  firm  so  often  against 
the  superior  numbers  and  discipline  of  the  veterans  they  were  called  to  face.  But 
it  was  more  than  this ;  it  was  sublime,  incomparable  heroism  which  kept  them  stead¬ 
fast  through  the  horrors  of  that  awful  winter  at  Valley  Forge,  till  spring  and  France 
came  to  relieve  their  misery. 


The  Chew  House. 


MOULTRIE,  JASPER  AND  MARION. 


FORT  MOULTRIE  in  Charleston  harbor  is  a  reminder  of  the  leading  part 
which  the  old  Palmetto  State  took  in  freeing  our  country  from  the  yoke 
of  a  foreign  despotism.  It  was  originally  called  Fort  Sullivan  ;  but  after  its 

gallant  and  successful  defence, 
June  28,  1776,  by  the  patriot 
forces  under  General  William 
Moultrie,  against  the  combined 
fleet  and  army  of  the  British,  it 
was  very  appropriately  given  his 
name. 

The  fort  is  associated  also 
with  the  memory  of  the  brave 
Sergeant  Jasper,  who,  during  the 
fiercest  of  this  attack  by  the 
British,  rescued  the  colonial  flag 
which  had  been  cut  down  by  a 
shot  and  had  fallen  outside  the 
embankment.  A  few  days  after¬ 
wards  he  received  Governor  Rut¬ 
ledge’s  sword  from  the  governor’s 
own  hand  as  a  tribute  to  his 
heroism.  Three  years  later  he 
was  mortally  wounded  while  res¬ 
cuing  the  colors  of  his  regiment 
under  similar  circumstances  dur¬ 
ing  the  assault  on  Savannah.  A 

Jasper  Monument.  ,  . 

monument  to  his  memory  was 
unveiled  in  Charleston,  June  28,  1876.  It  is  a  bronze  statue  of  a  Continental 
soldier,  and  while  the  right  hand  points  towards  Fort  Moultrie,  the  left,  Jasper-like, 
grasps  a  flag. 

Another  name  of  which  Carolina,  and  indeed  the  whole  nation,  may  be  justly 
proud  is  that  of  General  Francis  Marion.  He  holds  a  unique  place  in  military  annals 


TOMB  OF  GENERAL  MARION. 


fy:: 


' '  '^wBefc^jg aBa^ 

Pi!".' 

■/  ’MBSbP?'.'  > 

»P£~ 

-'  UEM 

“  '  ■  a&v 

rr~-  i 

U'vv  ■  .  :safln9 

£35% 

i:$&M 

*gE&£  tr3&‘ 

AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


47 


and  high  rank  on  Freedom’s  roll  of  honor.  A  Robin  Hood  in  his  control  of  his 
men  and  his  ability  to  hide  their  movements,  a  Bruce  in  his  power  to  strike  like 
lightning  for  swiftness  and  effect,  he  made  his  name,  his  brigade  and  his  camp 
on  Snow’s  Island  famous  alike  in  the  fears  of  the  enemy  and  the  pride  of  his  coun¬ 
trymen.  It  is  pleasant  to  record,  that  his  burial-place  on  his  old  plantation  near 
Georgetown  is  now  marked  by  a  beautiful  granite  monument,  fittingly  inscribed. 
It  was  erected  by  the  State  and  was  unveiled  in  the  presence  of  a  great  concourse 
of  citizens,  May  22  of  the  present  year.  The  good  old  State  has  done  rightly  in 
thus  perpetuating  the  memory  of  her  noble  son,  and  the  whole  nation  will  join  with 
her  in  the  ascription  of  honor,  when  she  writes  him,  in  the  enduring  rock,  as  “  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  patriots  and  heroes  of  the  American  Revolution  ...  the 
soldier  who  lived  without  fear,  and  died  without  reproach.” 

Moultrie,  Jasper  and  Marion !  These  men  have  the  fame  of  heroes  in  their 
own  right.  They  flung  themselves  into  the  struggle  for  national  liberty  with  an 
absolute  consecration.  In  giving  men  of  such  courage  and  genius  for  the  work, 
Carolina  laid  the  whole  country  under  perpetual  obligation ;  and  the  memory  of 
that  former  union  of  North  and  South  in  the  sufferings  of  a  common  cause  and 
the  glory  of  a  common  victory  will  make  the  growing  sympathy  of  these  later  days 
more  genuine  and  permanent. 


Fort  Moultrie. 


TRENTON,  PRINCETON  AND  MONMOUTH. 

DECEMBER,  1  776,  found  the  British  army  occupying  a  line  of  encampments 
east  of  the  Delaware  in  central  New  Jersey.  During  the  night  of  Decem¬ 
ber  25,  Washington,  with  a  part  of  his  troops,  crossed  the  river,  and  on  the 
following  day  attacked  a  body  of  Hessians  who  were  stationed  at  Trenton.  The 
accompanying  photogravure  shows  the  place  where  the  famous  crossing  was  effected. 

In  spite  of  the  intense  cold  and  the 
floating  ice  with  which  the  swift  current 
of  the  river  was  filled,  in  spite  of  dark¬ 
ness,  snow  and  sleet,  all  night  long  the 
patriots  persevered,  and  at  four  o’clock 
in  the  morning  stood  in  marching  order 
on  the  New  Jersey  shore.  The  enemy, 
sleeping  late  after  a  Christmas  debauch, 
were  taken  by  surprise  and  soon  sur¬ 
rendered.  Washington  captured  about  a 
thousand  prisoners,  and  before  night  had 
them  and  his  victorious  troops  safe  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

After  this  the  British  concentrated 
at  Princeton,  leaving  Washington  in  pos¬ 
session  of  Trenton.  January  2,  Corn¬ 
wallis  moved  with  a  strong  body  of  troops 
to  attack  him  there.  The  American  posi¬ 
tion  became  an  exceedingly  perilous  one.  The  half-frozen  river  was  behind,  and 
an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy  before  them.  During  the  following  night, 
however,  by  a  brilliant  flank  movement,  Washington  passed  Cornwallis  and  marched 
to  Princeton,  where  several  regiments  of  the  latter’s  army  remained.  In  the  battle 
which  ensued  the  Americans  were  again  the  victors. 

During  the  progress  of  this  fight  Washington  found  a  part  of  his  line  wavering 
and  ready  to  fall  back.  Immediately  he  spurred  his  horse  in  front  of  the  disheartened 
troops,  and  by  the  magic  of  his  presence  restored  their  courage  ;  but  in  doing  so 
he  exposed  himself  directly  to  the  enemy’s  fire.  The  patriots,  with  horror,  saw  him 

48 


Tennant  Church,  Monmouth. 


THE  DELAWARE  RIVER  AT  TRENTON. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


49 


enveloped  in  the  smoke  of  a  heavy  volley,  and  expected  to  bear  him  dead  from  the 
field.  But  the  same  strange  immunity  from  danger  which,  years  before,  the  Indian 
chief  had  noted  with  superstitious  terror,  when  trying  in  vain  to  shoot  him  in  the 
battle  of  Monongahela,  followed  him  still.  The  smoke  cleared  away,  and  a  wild 
shout  of  joy  burst  from  the  patriot  ranks  as  they  saw  him  unhurt.  The  old  Quaker 
Church,  shown  on  this  page,  is  a  relic  of  the  engagement,  having  been  used  as  a 
hospital  during  its  progress. 

A  year  and  a  half  later,  June  28,  1778,  came  the  fierce  battle  of  Monmouth, 
a  memento  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  building  shown  at  the  head  of  this  article. 
Through  the  treachery  of  General  Charles  Lee,  who  led  the  attack,  the  battle  was 
nearly  lost  at  the  outset.  The  militia  were  fleeing  in  disorder  when  Washington 
arrived  on  the  field.  Ordering  Lee  to  the  rear,  he  took  command  in  person,  rallied 
the  disordered  regiments  and  saved  the  day.  The  battle  continued  till  nightfall ; 
but  under  cover  of  the  darkness  the  British  general  acknowledged  defeat  by  with¬ 
drawing  his  forces  and  fleeing  towards  Sandy  Hook. 


Old  Quaker  Meeting-House,  Princeton 


CONNECTICUT  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


CONNECTICUT  in  1 686  was  the  only  one  of  the  New  England  colonies  to 
refuse  compliance  with  Sir  Edward  Andros’  demand  for  their  charters. 
The  story  of  the  document,  the  tyrant  and  the  oak  is  a  familiar  and  forcible 
illustration  of  that  love  of  liberty  which  has  ever  characterized  her  people.  Three 
generations  later  she  was  equally  ready  to  resist  oppression. 

To  Connecticut  belongs  the  honor  of  furnishing  for  the  Revolution  more  soldiers 
in  proportion  to  her  population  than  any  other  State.  Out  of  a  total  of  less  than 

two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  souls, 
more  than  forty-one  thousand  men  took 
the  field.  She  also  bore  her  full  share 
of  the  suffering.  Danbury,  New  Haven, 
Fairfield  and  Norwalk  were  ravaged  by 
the  infamous  Tryon,  while  New  London 
was  burned  by  the  still  more  infamous 
Arnold.  During  the  attack  on  the  latter 
place,  Colonel  Eyre,  Arnold’s  subordi¬ 
nate,  was  busy  at  Fort  Griswold,  in 
Groton,  upon  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
Colonel  Ledyard,  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  militiamen,  made  a  gallant  defense 
of  the  fort,  but  was  compelled  to  surren¬ 
der.  After  the  surrender,  Major  Brom- 
field,  who  was  then  in  command  of  the 
attacking  force,  did  the  foulest  deed  of  the  war.  He  personally  murdered  Colonel 
Ledyard  with  the  latter’s  own  sword,  and  ordered  a  general  massacre  of  the  garrison. 

Connecticut,  again,  did  her  part  in  furnishing  leaders  for  the  struggle.  Perhaps 
the  most  prominent  of  the  men  she  gave  to  the  cause  was  that  stout  patriot  and 
brave  soldier,  Major-General  Israel  Putnam,  hero  of  the  she-wolf’s  den  at  Pomfret, 
of  the  powder  magazine  at  Fort  Edward,  of  Indian  tortures  in  Canada,  of  the  expe¬ 
dition  against  Crown  Point,  of  the  capture  of  Havana,  of  the  famous  ride  from  his 
field  in  Putnam  to  the  patriot  camp  at  Cambridge  in  eighteen  hours  without  change 

50 


Governor  Trumbull’s  War  Office,  Lebanon. 


HOME  OF  GENERAL  ISRAEL  PUTNAM,  POMFRET. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


51 


of  horse,  of  Bunker  Hill,  of  Prospect  Hill,  of  New  York,  of  Philadelphia,  of  West 
Point,  of  the  wild  dash  down  the  precipice  at  Horseneck,  and  of  the  noted  spy  letter 
to  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  His  character  is  summarized  in  the  epitaph  on  his  monu¬ 
ment :  “He  dared  to  lead  where  any  dared  to  follow.” 

Sagacious  in  council  as  Putnam  was  brave  in  battle,  was  Connecticut’s  great 
war  governor,  Jonathan  Trumbull,  the  only  colonial  governor  to  espouse  the  cause 
of  the  people  against  the  king.  He  was  the  home  leader  of  the  patriots  of  all  New 
England.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Washington,  the  man  of  whom  the  latter 
remarked :  “  We  must  consult  Brother  Jonathan  on  the  subject  ” ;  thus  fixing 
upon  him  that  affectionate  nickname,  which  not  only  stuck  to  Jonathan  Trumbull 
for  life,  but  eventually  became  a  synonym  of  the  country  itself,  emphasizing  the 
national  traits  so  strikingly  exemplified  by  the  man,-— sagacity,  shrewdness,  quick¬ 
ness  of  wit,  fertility  of  resource,  energy,  pluck,  perseverance,  strong  sense  of  humor, 
kindliness  of  nature  and  passionate  patriotism. 


Fort  Griswold. 


YORKTOWN. 


=>>©<0-0— 


'NDER  orders  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  Lord  Cornwallis  entered  Yorktown, 
Va.,  during  the  summer  of  1781,  with  a  large  force,  and  proceeded  to 
fortify  his  position.  Clinton’s  object  was  to  have  him  within  supporting 
distance  of  New  York  ;  but  it  was  a  fatal  move.  Washington  immediately  hurried 

south  with  his  whole  army,  and,  join¬ 
ing  Lafayette  at  Williamsburg,  soon  in¬ 
vested  Yorktown  by  land,  while  a  strong 
French  fleet,  anchoring  in  the  mouth  of 
York  River,  made  the  besieging  line  com¬ 
plete.  October  6,  the  first  line  of  trenches 
was  opened,  and  the  cannonade  began. 
On  the  1  4th  the  outer  works  of  the  Brit¬ 
ish  were  carried  by  storm.  October  19, 
Cornwallis  and  his  whole  force,  about 
eight  thousand  men,  laid  down  their  arms 
and  became  prisoners  of  war. 

The  accompanying  pictures  show  the 
old  Custom  House  at  Yorktown  —  a  relic 
of  the  Revolutionary  period,  —  the  Moore 
House,  in  which  the  terms  of  Cornwallis’s 
surrender  were  signed,  and  the  National 
Monument  erected  in  1881  to  commem¬ 
orate  the  great  victory.  The  two  build¬ 
ings,  reaching  back  through  all  the 
changes  which  have  marked  the  life  of  the  nation,  and  witnesses  of  the  glorious 
triumph  with  which  its  beginning  was  crowned,  are  landmarks  of  unfailing  interest 
to  the  patriotic  heart.  The  monument  is  a  fitting  testimonial  of  the  nation’s  rever¬ 
ence  for  the  memory  of  those  who  put  Yorktown  into  our  history  as  the  synonym 
of  success. 

From  1775  to  1781  was  a  weary  road  for  the  patriot  army  and  its  brave 
commander.  It  led  them  over  the  sharp  thorns  of  suffering  and  up  the  steep  hill 

52 


National  Monument,  Yorktown. 


THE  MOORE  HOUSE,  YORKTOWN. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


53 


of  exhausting  struggle.  Ay,  but  it  brought  them  at  last  to  Yorktown  and  victory ; 
and  the  view  from  that  summit  was  worth  all  the  pain  endured  in  the  ascent.  The 
result  was  not  mere  triumph  over  their  enemy ;  it  was  freedom  for  their  country 
and  vindication  for  their  cause.  It  was  the  answer  to  the  prayers  voiced  in  the 
tears  of  the  widows  and  the  orphans  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  service.  It 
was  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  written  in  the  consecration  of  a  whole  people 
to  the  resistance  of  organized  oppression.  It  was  more  than  victory :  it  was  suc¬ 
cess,  —  absolute,  permanent,  far-reaching  success.  It  was  the  final  point  of  transi¬ 
tion  from  the  colonial  to  the  national  position.  The  British  army  which  evacuated 
Boston,  March  17,  1776,  did  so  because  of  the  successful  strategy  of  the  leader 
of  thirteen  rebellious  colonies.  The  British  army  which  surrendered  at  Yorktown, 
October  19,  1781,  delivered  their  arms  and  flags  to  the  recognized  military  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  American  nation.  The  glory  of  such  a  morning  was  sufficient 
reward  for  the  suffering  and  sacrifice  of  those  who  had  watched  for  its  coming 
through  such  a  long,  dreary  night. 


Old  Custom  House,  Yorktown. 


CLOSING  SCENES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


THEN  the  American  forces  under  General  Knox  took  possession  of  New 
York,  November  25,  1783,  two  hours  after  its  evacuation  by  the  British, 
they  found  that  the  departing  troops  had  left  their  flag  nailed  to  the  staff 
on  Fort  George,  a  fortification  on  what  is  now  The  Battery.  Of  course  it  was  soon 

torn  down ;  and  then,  as  the  symbol 
and  seal  of  the  triumphant  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  autonomy  of  the  United 
States  as  a  nation,  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  was  run  to  the  flagstaff  head 
in  its  place. 

About  a  week  after  this  event 
Washington  called  his  officers  together 
in  Fraunce’s  Tavern  to  take  leave  of 

them.  The  building  —  the  oldest  in  the 
city  —  is  yet  standing,  and  the  room 
in  which  this  farewell  meeting  took 
place  is  still  preserved  as  it  was  at 
the  time.  There  is  a  pathetic  quality 
in  all  such  parting  scenes.  In  every 
language  they  are  described  in  the 
tenderest  words,  in  every  heart  they 
awaken  the  tenderest  emotions.  Surely, 

then,  we  cannot  wonder  that  Washing- 

Fraunces  Tavern.  ton  and  his  officers  found  themselves 

profoundly  moved  at  this  time.  To 
realize  how  much  the  separation  meant  to  them,  we  must  know  how  strong  the 
bond  of  union  is  between  men  who  have  borne  unitedly  for  eight  years  the  burdens 
of  a  great  cause,  who  have  stood  side  by  side  in  the  crash  of  battle,  and  who  have 
suffered  together  through  the  long-drawn  martyrdom  of  such  times  as  the  winter 
at  Valley  Forge.  The  farewell  was  the  more  touching  because  of  its  simplicity. 
“I  most  devoutly  wish,”  said  the  great  leader,  ‘‘that  your  latter  days  may  be  as 

54 


THE  STATE  HOUSE,  ANNAPOLIS 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


55 


prosperous  and  happy  as  your  former  ones  have  been  glorious  and  honorable.” 
Then,  with  a  grasp  of  the  hand  and  a  kiss  on  the  forehead  for  each  of  them,  he 
was  gone.  They  were  strong  men,  hardened  by  the  awful  scenes  of  war,  but  their 
hearts  gave  way,  and  they  wept  like  children  at  the  thought  of  parting  from  him 
who  had  shared  all  their  perils  and  privations,  and  whose  kindness  had  won  their 
love  as  his  genius  commanded  their  admiration. 

A  few  days  after  this,  December  23,  Washington  stood  before  the  assembled 
Congress,  in  the  old  State  House  in  Annapolis,  Md.,  and  with  a  brief  but  earnest 
speech,  delivered  up  to  that  august  body  the  commission  as  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army,  which  he  had  received  from  them  eight  years  before.  The  following  day 
he  set  out  with  his  wife  for  Mount  Vernon,  rejoicing  to  change  the  glare  of  military 
honor,  in  which  success  had  placed  him,  for  the  quiet  delights _  of  his  own  home 
and  family. 

By  his  action  on  these  two  occasions,  Washington  taught  his  countrymen  the 
vitally  important  truths,  that,  for  the  true  patriot  in  the  true  republic,  war  is  not  a 
profession,  but  only  a  last,  sad  resource  for  the  avoidance  of  national  dishonor ; 
and  that  the  country  is  most  securely  guarded,  not  by  surrounding  it  with  forts  and 
armies,  but  by  covering  its  fields  with  verdure,  filling  its  barns  with  plenty,  and 
training  in  its  homes  a  pure,  sturdy  citizenship. 


The  Battery. 


MOUNT  VERNON. 


- oo^iKoo - 

EIGHT  miles  from  the  quaint  old  city  of  Alexandria,  and  seventeen  miles  below 
the  national  capital,  on  high  ground  overlooking  the  Potomac,  and  command¬ 
ing  a  landscape  of  rare  beauty,  stands  historic  Mount  Vernon,  the  home  of 
Washington.  The  place  is  identified  with  the  man  from  his  childhood.  It  was  then 
the  property  of  his  elder  brother  Lawrence,  who  on  its  acquisition  had  named  it 

Mount  Vernon,  in  honor  of  his  old 
commander  in  the  English  navy.  Be¬ 
tween  Lawrence  and  George  Wash¬ 
ington  there  existed  an  affection 
uncommon  even  among  brothers.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  greater  part  of  his  youth 
George  was  a  member  of  his  brother’s 
family.  On  the  death  of  Lawrence 
the  estate  passed  to  George  by  be¬ 
quest,  and  for  the  rest  of  his  life  he 
made  it  his  home.  Here,  in  1759,  he 
brought  his  beautiful  and  gifted  bride, 
Martha  Dandridge  Custis,  —  noble 
example  of  American  womanhood. 
Here  he  lived  with  her  during  sixteen 
peaceful,  happy  years.  His  days  were 
spent  in  the  performance  of  his  duties 
as  farmer  and  magistrate.  On  Sun¬ 
day  it  was  his  custom  to  worship  in 
old  Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  where  his  pew  can  be  seen  to-day  as  he  left  it. 
This  quiet  life,  enlivened  by  the  entertainment  of  friends,  ennobled  by  association 
with  Nature,  and  sanctified  by  the  sweet  communion  of  truly  wedded  hearts,  was 
slowly  but  steadily  broadening,  deepening  and  strengthening  his  character  to  meet 
the  tremendous  responsibilities  of  years  that  were  to  follow. 

We  may  never  know  how  much  we  owe  to  rustic  Mount  Vernon  with  its 
homely  honesties  and  sweet  simplicities.  Washington  loved  his  home.  He  realized 


Christ  Church,  Alexandria. 


56 


. 


. 


MOUNT  VERNON. 


( 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


57 


all  that  it  had  been  to  him,  and  what  it  had  done  for  him.  Its  memory  was  ever 
with  him.  During  the  trials  and  discouragements  of  eight  long  years  of  war,  and 
throughout  the  labors  and  honors  of  the  years  succeeding,  his  heart,  like  the  magnet 
to  the  pole,  was  ever  true  to  this  loved  spot.  And  when  the  young  nation,  to  which 
he  had  consecrated  all  the  powers  of  his  magnificent  manhood,  no  longer  needed 
his  sustaining  hand,  hither  he  joyfully  returned  to  take  up  again  that  homely  life, 
which  he  had  left  only  because  of  his  country’s  need.  Here  he  died  ;  and  here, 
to-day,  he  sleeps,  near  the  house  and  the  river  and  the  fields  he  loved,  and  by  the 
side  of  the  woman  who  gave  to  field  and  river  a  deeper  meaning,  and  who  made 
the  house  —  home.  Hither  come  ever-increasing  throngs,  led  by  the  charm  of 
that  name,  which,  as  it  falls  upon  the  ear  in  any  quarter  of  this  or  other  lands, 
suggests  a  personality  so  majestic  yet  so  benignant  that  it  has  commanded  for 
three  generations,  and  will  command  forever,  the  admiration  of  mankind.  Nearly 
a  century  has  passed  since  Washington’s  body  was  laid  to  rest,  but  his  spirit  is 
with  us  still,  a  vital  presence  to  guide  and  guard  the  land  he  loved  so  well,  and  his 
name  remains  “first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  country¬ 
men.” 


Washington's  Tomb. 


JEFFERSON,  FRANKFIN  AND  ADAMS. 


WHAT  higher  honor  can  a  man  receive  from  his  fellowmen,  than  that  of 
having  the  nobility  of  his  character  and  the  grandeur  of  his  achieve¬ 
ment  so  clearly  recognized  by  them  that  they  distinguish  him  in  thought 
and  speech  by  his  own  name  ?  The  three  men  who  are  the  subjects  of  this  article 
have  been  accorded  this  distinction  through  the  reverence  in  which  they  are  held 

by  the  American  people. 
They  are  known  by  no 
titles.  They  are  simply 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Benja¬ 
min  Franklin  and  John 
Adams.  The  familiarity  is 
the  index  of  a  national 
recognition  and  love  which 
constitute  the  highest 
fame. 

Jefferson  was  the 
writer  of  the  Declaration 
of  our  Independence,  while 
Franklin  and  Adams  were 
closely  associated  with  him 
in  its  preparation.  It  is 
doubtful  if  men  ever  wrote  any  other  document  of  equal  length  which  has  had 
such  intense  interest  and  such  vast  importance  for  so  many  millions  of  their  fel¬ 
low-beings.  A  century  and  more  has  passed  since  it  was  framed  ;  yet  because  of 
the  grand  simplicity  of  its  statement  of  great  truths,  and  because  of  the  inspiring 
memories  of  men  and  events  which  gather  about  it,  it  still  holds  the  reverent 
faith  of  our  whole  nation. 

We  must  follow  the  men,  however,  beyond  the  preparation  and  signing  of  this 
American  Magna  Charta,  if  we  would  comprehend  their  influence  on  our  history. 
We  must  remember  that  Franklin’s  success  in  securing  the  alliance  with  France 
was,  in  a  very  real  sense,  the  salvation  of  the  American  cause  ;  while  Jefferson 

58 


Franklin’s  Grave,  Christ  Church  Burying-ground,  Philadelphia. 


' 

■ 

. 

. 


MONTICELLO. 


. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


59 


in  Virginia  and  Adams  in  New  England  struck  tremendous  blows  in  the  work  of 
making  the  Declaration  one  of  fact  and  not  of  mere  theory.  It  was  a  strange 
coincidence,  but  fitting  withal,  that  the  last  two  should  have  died  on  the  same  day, 
and  that  the  memorable  Fourth  of  July. 

We  have  here  three  men  who  were  leaders  in  one  of  the  great  crises  of  the 
world’s  history,  and  who  were  fitted  in  heart  and  intellect  for  that  high  position. 
They  belonged  to  the  few  —  the  very  few  —  to  whom  it  has  been  given  to  speak 
for  a  whole  people  ;  men  with  thought  broad  enough  and  language  clear  enough  to 
be  the  expression  of  national  feeling.  Think  what  it  meant  to  be  voice  for  a  nation 
keyed  to  such  a  pitch  as  that  of  the  American  colonists  at  the  time  of  the  Revo¬ 
lution  !  to  feel  in  one’s  soul  the  concentrated  fire  of  their  patriotism  !  to  have  the 
heart  throbbing  with  their  indignation,  and  every  nerve  strung  with  the  tension  of 
their  purpose !  and  then  to  speak,  and  speak  so  that  the  heart  of  every  patriot  in 
the  land  should  respond  to  the  language  and  say,  That  is  our  thought !  Can 

nobler  service  be  rendered  ?  To  lead  men,  and  lead  them  aright,  even  in  the  time 

of  peace,  when  the  multitude  are  ruled  by  the  commercial  spirit,  and  patriotic  zeal 

and  genius  shine  the  brighter  by  contrast, — that  is  honor,  and  honor  which  every 

noble  spirit  may  covet.  But  to  lead  one’s  countrymen,  and  lead  them  to  victory, 
in  the  time  when  the  very  air  is  charged  with  the  spirit  of  freedom,  and  great 
thoughts,  born  of  great  issues,  are  knocking  at  the  door  of  every  man’s  soul  to 
make  him  a  hero, —  that  is  immortality. 


Home  of  John  Adams,  Quincy. 


HAMILTON,  HANCOCK  AND  SAMUEL  ADAMS. 


SAMUEL  ADAMS  and  JOHN  HANCOCK  received  in  their  lifetime  a  very 
unusual  honor.  They  were  proscribed  by  name  in  an  Act  of  the  British 
Parliament  because  of  their  opposition  to  British  tyranny  in  America,  and 
they  were  the  two  “  rebels  ”  whom  General  Gage  expressly  excluded  from  his 

offer  of  pardon. 

Hancock’s  unflinching  patriot¬ 
ism,  coupled  with  his  commanding 
influence  over  the  people  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  made  him  specially 
obnoxious  to  the  British  authori¬ 
ties.  One  of  the  chief  objects  of 
the  expedition  that  resulted  in  the 
battle  of  Lexington  and  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  Revolution,  was  to  place 
him  under  arrest.  He  was  presi¬ 
dent  of  the  provincial  Congress, 
and  subsequently,  as  president  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  was  the 
first  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  He  was  the  first 
governor  of  Massachusetts  after  it 
became  a  free  State,  and  continued 
in  the  office,  except  for  two  years,  until  his  death  in  1793. 

Samuel  Adams  was  another  of  the  leaders  of  his  countrymen  in  their  great 
fight  for  freedom.  His  name  stood  next  to  that  of  Hancock  on  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  He  served  long  and  faithfully  in  public  life,  and  was  governor 
of  his  State  from  1794  to  1797.  Hutchinson,  the  colonial  governor,  reported 
him  to  Lord  North  as  being  “  of  such  an  obstinate  and  inflexible  disposition  that 
no  gift  nor  office  would  ever  conciliate  him.”  Greater  commendation  could  hardly 
have  been  bestowed.  It  was  the  patriotism  which  no  titular  dignity  could  blind 
and  which  no  bribe  could  corrupt,  that  made  his  name  conspicuous  and  his  exam¬ 
ple  illustrious  in  his  country’s  history.  In  the  Granary  Burying-ground,  Boston, 

60 


Hancock’s  Home,  Hull  Street,  Boston. 


HOME  OF  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 


iU«ssa» 

yMBt 

gg*1.  JSggfcV y?  ^  WEtar^B^ 

tevf^TO»£/33tr^ pr.  -.-, 

<*  <&$'■>*  ^-mSeBSw 

^  .®'V 

fcp- : '.-  •  •  *T‘ '  -  .  XWM 

^M9C':  a»i  rp 

3KP8SP 

illM 

^iHr'-^ys 

■v 

mmp: 

;  ?■ 

SNWfe  ■ 

AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


61 


rest  the  remains  of  these  two  patriots,  along  with  those  of  Paul  Revere,  Robert 
Treat  Paine  and  many  other  heroes  of  those  early  days. 

“The  Grange,”  on  Washington  Heights,  New  York,  is  memorable  as  the  home 
of  Alexander  Hamilton.  A  noticeable  adornment  of  its  grounds  is  the  group  of 
thirteen  trees  which  he  planted  as  a  symbol  of  the  union  of  the  thirteen  colonies. 
He  was  one  of  the  moving  spirits  in  the  establishment  of  our  national  government. 
The  first  United  States  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  taking  the  office  when  its 
first  duty  was  to  create  resources  rather  than  to  administer  them,  he  won  an 
immediate  and  unparalleled  success  in  placing  the  credit  of  his  country  beyond 
question  and  her  financial  character  above  reproach.  He  was  a  giant  in  intellect, 
intensely  and  incorruptibly  patriotic.  This  made  him  a  statesman,  first  of  all,  — 
one  of  the  most  profound  and  far-sighted  the  world  has  ever  known.  It  made 
him  a  successful  military  leader  during  the  war,  and  a  successful  national  treas¬ 
urer  in  the  constructive  period  which  followed.  It  would  have  made  him  equally 
efficient  in  almost  any  other  national  office,  if  an  emergency  calling  for  his  assump¬ 
tion  of  it  had  arisen. 


Granary  Burying-ground. 


GREENE,  WAYNE  AND  SCHUYLER. 


0^00 - 


Nathanael  greene,  anthony  wayne  and  philip  schuyler 

form  a  military  trio  of  whom  Americans  may  well  be  proud.  By  birth 
they  belong  respectively  to  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania  and  New  York; 
their  deeds  and  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  wrought  make  them  citizens  of  the 

whole  country. 

They  were  men  of  sterling  charac¬ 
ter.  It  is  doubtless  the  fact  that  there 


have  been  successful  generals  who 
lacked  this  qualification  ;  but  it  is  just 
as  certain,  that  in  the  only  war  which 
a  true  republic  can  wage  —  war  for  the 
establishment  or  defense  of  essential 
right  —  such  men  as  Greene,  Wayne 
and  Schuyler  are  effective  as  those  of 
lower  moral  grade  never  can  be. 


The  three  were  grand,  whole-souled 
patriots.  This  quality  was  conspicuous 
throughout  all  their  public  life,  and  espe¬ 
cially  while  the  country  was  suffering 
the  perils  and  horrors  of  war.  During 
the  long  and  exhausting  struggle,  each 
one  of  them  gave  continual  proof  that 
he  was  seeking  his  country’s  freedom, 
and  not  his  own  aggrandizement. 


Wayne’s  Grave,  Radnor  Churchyard,  Pa. 


Greene’s  acceptance,  in  1778,  of  the  harassing  and  thankless  duties  of  the 
quartermaster-general’s  department,  and  Schuyler’s  hearty  and  zealous  support  of 
Gates,  when  the  latter  had  superseded  him  during  Burgoyne’s  invasion,  are  examples 
of  patriotic  self-sacrifice  of  the  noblest  sort. 

On  the  background  of  these  two  qualities  —  their  strong  moral  character  and 
their  splendid  patriotism  —  we  may  view  with  honest  pride  the  magnificent  military 
genius  of  the  three  generals.  Washington  had  unbounded  confidence  in  their  ability 
as  in  their  loyalty.  What  his  famous  marshals  were  to  Napoleon  in  the  execution 


62 


THE  SCHUYLER  MANSION,  ALBANY. 


f »>.( 


A' JtifSHli*  1 

WmWm 

M%%'  >  SfSZfEt 

Pip  Wzffi 

t  ’  !alu^W  gKl^uTy^p '  ■ 

_J2r  % 

M\  \ 

||ggg  yip 

g-T^V i  ~  -  J 

[/M 

/  J 

/  /  -  JR 

■a  -  -  ml:'/ 

AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


63 


of  his  prodigious  plans  of  conquest,  these  men  were  to  their  commander-in-chief  in 
his  great  task  of  securing  his  country’s  freedom.  Wayne  will  always  be  remembered 
as  the  hero  of  Stony  Point.  The  capture  of  a  fort  protected  and  garrisoned  as  Stony 
Point  was,  its  capture  in  broad  daylight,  by  open  assault,  and  with  comparatively 
small  sacrifice  of  life,  would  be  sufficient  to  bring  enduring  fame  to  any  general 
who  should  accomplish  it.  Schuyler’s  leadership  —  his  foresight  of  the  movements 
of  the  enemy,  and  his  energy  and  skill  in  providing  for  their  defeat  —  was  the  real 
cause  of  the  failure  of  Burgoyne’s  invasion,  and  the  surrender  of  his  army.  Greene’s 
successful  retreat  through  North  Carolina  to  Virginia,  in  the  face  of  the  superior 
force  with  which  Cornwallis  pursued  him,  will  always  stand  in  history  as  one  of 
the  marvels  of  military  achievement ;  while  his  subsequent  work  of  driving  in  the 
British  forces  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  from  point  to  point,  until  at  last  he 
had  them  literally  imprisoned  in  Charleston  and  Savannah,  with  himself  and  General 
Wayne  acting  as  their  jailers,  seems  more  like  romance  than  reality. 


Greene’s  Birthplace,  Warwick,  R.I. 


CONFEDERATION  AND  UNION. 


CARPENTERS’  HALL,  Philadelphia,  finds  its  historic  interest  in  the  fact  that 
in  it  were  held  the  sessions  of  the  First  Continental  Congress.  An  inscrip¬ 
tion  on  the  wall  bears  witness  that  here  “  Henry,  Hancock  and  Adams 
inspired  the  Delegates  of  the  Colonies  with  Nerve  and  Sinew  for  the  Toils  of  War.” 

Through  the  patriotism  of  the  Company 
of  Carpenters  the  building  has  been  pre¬ 
served  as  nearly  as  possible  as  it  was, 
when  the  meetings,  which  have  made  it 
famous,  were  being  held. 

The  accompanying  photogravure 
shows  Philadelphia’s  old  Christ  Church. 
During  the  period  in  which  the  city  was 
the  seat  of  government,  this  was  the 
regular  place  of  worship  for  the  Presi¬ 
dent  and  other  government  officials.  A 
pew  in  it  was  retained  for  use  of  the 
Presidents  of  Congress,  and,  later,  for 
Washington  and  Adams  as  Presidents 
of  the  United  States. 

The  third  picture  of  the  group  pre¬ 
sents  a  view  of  Congress  Hall,  adjoin¬ 
ing  Independence  Hall  on  Chestnut 
Street.  For  a  number  of  years  at  the 
beginning  of  our  national  life  Congress 
met  in  its  rooms,  the  House  of  Representatives  occupying  the  south  room  on  the 
first  floor,  the  Senate  the  south  room  on  the  second  floor.  The  former  room  is 
memorable,  also,  as  the  scene  of  two  presidential  inaugurations,  —  that  of  Washing¬ 
ton  for  his  second  term  in  1793,  and  that  of  Adams  four  years  later. 

These  buildings  carry  our  thought  back  to  the  most  critical  period  of  our 
country’s  history,  the  time  when  we  were  groping,  amid  the  darkness  and  confusion 
a  of  transitional  state,  for  the  form  and  spirit  of  a  new  national  life.  The  question 
which  Washington  and  his  companions  in  arms  answered  on  the  bloody  fields  from 

64 


Carpenters’  Hall. 


'•••  klHGAUim  ; 


■ 


CHRIST  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


65 


Lexington  to  Yorktown  was,  how  they  were  to  break  the  hold  upon  them  of  the 
most  powerful  nation  in  the  world.  A  tremendous  question,  and  answered  in  heroic 
fashion  !  But  another  problem,  quite  as  momentous,  was  solved  in  these  old  build¬ 
ings  ;  the  problem  of  transmuting  into  a  national  body,  one  in  spirit,  growth,  and 
action,  a  mere  confederacy  of  colonies,  temporarily  united  by  the  bond  of  a  common 
danger,  but  ready  on  the  removal  of  that  bond  to  relapse  into  their  former  granu¬ 
lated  condition.  Bismarck  has  won  immortal  fame  because  his  policy  changed 
the  conglomerate  of  States  forming  the  German  Confederacy  into  the  unified  and 
powerful  German  Empire  ;  but  he  accomplished,  after  all,  only  what,  in  the  case 
of  the  American  colonies,  had  been  done  more  effectively  nearly  a  century  before. 
Carpenters’  Hall  reminds  us  of  the  chaotic  condition  which  the  country  had  reached 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  Congress  Hall  points  back  to  the  beginning 
of  the  better  order  of  things  under  the  national  Constitution.  Between  the  two  there 
is  fittingly  placed  the  Church,  —  the  symbol  of  that  Divine  leading  and  enlighten¬ 
ment,  which  made  the  transition  from  the  one  to  the  other  certain  and  safe. 


Congress  Hall. 


THEN  AND  NOW. 


IN  this  group  of  pictures  we  are  reminded  of  the  old  and  the  new  in  our  country’s 
history.  The  Washington  Memorial  Arch,  on  Washington  Square,  New  York, 
perpetuating  the  memory  of  our  first  president,  and  the  sub-treasury  building 
on  Wall  Street,  occupying  the  site  of  old  Federal  Hall,  on  the  balcony  of  which 

he  took  the  oath  of  office  at  his  first  in¬ 
auguration,  recall  the  beginnings  of  our 
national  life.  Castle  Garden,  although 
no  longer  used  as  an  immigrant  station, 
for  nearly  half  a  century  has  been  so 
woven  into  our  history  in  that  capacity, 
that,  to  the  popular  mind  for  years  to 
come,  it  will  be  the  symbol  of  that  vast 
movement  of  foreigners  to  our  shores, 
which  has  increased  our  strength  and 
developed  our  resources  with  such 
phenomenal  rapidity.  Washington,  in 
1789,  accepted  the  presidency  of  a  na¬ 
tion  of  only  four  million  people.  To-day 
that  number  has  grown  to  sixty  millions, 
while  the  enlargement  of  the  national 
territory  has  kept  pace  with  the  increase 
of  the  population.  The  transition  from 
the  one  to  the  other,  however,  has  been 

Washington  Memorial  Arch. 

possible  only  because  of  the  unparalleled 
tide  of  immigration  which  during  all  the  time  has  been  setting  in  upon  our  shores. 

That  fact  does  not  detract  in  any  sense  from  the  honor,  nor  belittle  the 
influence,  of  those  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  republic  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  or  of  those  who  won  its  charter  of  freedom  in  the  eighteenth.  It  is  rather 
an  everlasting  memorial  to  their  wise  statesmanship,  that,  with  no  pattern  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to  guide  them  in  the  work,  they  nevertheless  constructed 
a  national  government  of  such  beauty  as  to  attract,  and  of  such  strength  as  safely 

66 


CASTLE  GARDEN. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


67 


to  receive,  so  many  millions  of  their  fellow-men.  They  are  honored  also  in  the 
fact,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  influence  of  this  constant  addition  of  foreign  ele¬ 
ments  for  a  hundred  years,  the  government  of  the  republic  remains,  in  its  essen¬ 
tial  characteristics,  precisely  what  they  made  it. 

Symbolizing  as  they  do  the  wonderful  development  of  the  republic  during  the 
past  century,  these  landmarks  remind  us  of  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  be  loyal 
to  its  best  interests,  and  to  contribute  his  part  towards  the  realization  of  its  mag¬ 
nificent  possibilities,  remembering  that 
patriotism  does  not  consist  merely  in 
erecting  monuments  and  delivering  ora¬ 
tions  in  honor  of  the  heroes  of  the 
past.  They  warn  us  that  the  very 
forces  which  have  given  the  nation  its 
phenomenal  growth  have  also  brought 
it  face  to  face  with  some  of  the  gravest 
problems  that  statecraft  ever  has  at¬ 
tempted  to  solve.  They  caution  us 
that  the  fulfillment  of  the  mission  of 
this  republic  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth  requires  that  its  laws  shall  be 
an  absolute  barrier  against  the  pau¬ 
pers  and  criminals  of  both  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  that  those  who  do  come 
among  us,  whether  through  a  Castle 
Garden  or  a  Golden  Gate,  shall  be¬ 
come,  in  language,  customs,  sympathy  and  character,  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
There  is  room  in  our  country  for  many  millions  more  than  its  present  population. 
Vast  tracts  of  its  territory  are  still  unoccupied,  and  vast  resources  in  its  soil  and 
mines,  its  streams  and  forests  are  still  unutilized.  Its  doors  should  remain  open 
to  every  honest  and  industrious  man  or  woman,  who  may  seek  in  it  a  refuge  from 
the  hard  conditions  of  life  in  the  Old  World.  But  it  never  can  be  too  clearly 
understood,  nor  insisted  upon  too  strongly,  that,  notwithstanding  the  vastness  of 
the  republic  in  territory  and  resources,  it  is  large  enough  to  contain  only  one 
nation. 


Wall  Street. 


BOSTON  COMMON. 


IN  presenting  these  views  of  Boston  Common,  we  are  calling  attention  to  a 
spot  which  is  associated  in  many  ways  with  the  early  history  of  our  nation, 
and  in  which  every  American,  acquainted  with  that  history,  feels  a  sense 
of  proprietorship.  A  storm  of  opposition  has  been  raised  all  over  the  country 

every  time  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  alienate  any  portion  of  the  Common 
for  commercial  purposes.  As  early  as 
1640,  a  scheme  to  turn  some  of  the 
land  to  business  account  was  thwarted 
by  a  vote  of  the  town,  that,  with  the 
exception  of  “3  or  4  lotts  to  make  vp 
ye  streete  from  bro  Walkers  to  ye  Rovnd 
Marsh,”  no  more  land  should  be  granted 
out  of  the  Common.  The  spirit,  if  not 
the  exact  letter,  of  that  wise  prohibition 
has  been  maintained  ever  since.  When 
a  municipal  charter  was  granted  to 
Boston  in  1822,  at  the  request  of  the 
citizens  the  legislature  put  into  the  doc¬ 
ument  a  clause  permanently  enjoining 
the  city  government  from  disposing  of 
any  part  of  this  public  reservation.  And 
,  „„  so  it  has  remained  ever  since,  a  beauti- 

Army  and  Navy  Monument. 

ful  park  nearly  fifty  acres  in  extent  in 
the  very  center  of  a  great  city  in  which  the  need  for  more  land  has  been  for  many 
years  urgent  and  increasing.  Commerce  may  hedge  it  in  on  every  side  with 
massive  buildings.  The  myriad  interests  of  business  may  encircle  it  with  an  inde¬ 
scribable  confusion  of  jostling  crowds  and  clattering  hoofs  and  wheels.  But  not  an 
inch  may  they  encroach  on  its  territory.  The  iron  fence,  which  surrounds  it,  is  not 
more  unyielding  than  the  public  sentiment  by  which  it  has  been  kept  intact.  Money 


/ 


BOSTON  COMMON, 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


69 


may  make  land,  but  it  cannot  make  history ;  so  the  people  have  kept  the  Common, 
and  filled  up  the  Back  Bay. 

The  name  itself  is  suggestive.  It  is  more  than  a  park :  it  is  a  Common,  —  and 
that,  too,  in  the  broadest,  most  unrestricted  sense  of  the  word.  Its  shaded  walks, 
its  towering  trees,  its  grassy  slopes,  its  quiet  resting-places,  —  where  you  seem  to  be 
miles  from  the  noise  of  the  city,  —  the  beauty  of  its  scenery,  and  the  inspiration  of 
its  historic  associations, — all  this  is  the  common  inheritance  of  every  citizen  who 


may  visit  the  place.  Wealth  gives 


The  Frog  Pond. 

use,  and  for  the  use  of  every  class.  The  young  and  the  old,  the  gay  and  the  sad, 
the  owners  of  palatial  residences  and  the  dwellers  in  crowded  tenements,  —  all 
alike  find  welcome  within  its  enclosure. 

Plain,  beautiful,  historic  !  a  bit  of  real  nature  set  in  an  ever-changing  frame  of 
art!  contemporary,  as  “the  Common,”  with  every  generation  of  the  nation’s  life! 
the  quiet  pleasures  and  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  people  alike  set  forth  in  its  adorn¬ 
ment  !  In  the  grand  simplicity  of  its  plan,  in  the  substantial  excellence  of  its  artificial 
attractions,  in  its  unyielding  resistance  to  the  encroachments  of  human  selfishness, 
and  in  its  steady  protest  against  the  stratifying  tendencies  of  human  society,  it  is,  for 
the  millions  who  visit  it,  a  permanent  object  lesson  on  the  true  character  of  American 
citizenship. 


BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE. 


A  FLEET  of  nine  vessels  bearing  the  American  flag,  while  cruising  on  Lake 
Erie,  off  Sandusky  Bay,  September  10,  1813,  encountered  the  six  men- 
of-war  constituting  the  British  squadron,  that  for  some  time  had  controlled 
the  navigation  of  the  lake,  and  had  served  also  to  hamper  the  operations  of 

the  American  “  Army  of  the  West.”  The 
famous  battle  of  Lake  Erie  followed. 

The  American  fleet  was  commanded 
by  Commodore  Oliver  H.  Perry.  It  had 
been  hastily  prepared  for  the  struggle  under 
his  supervision.  Only  two  of  its  nine  ves¬ 
sels  were  really  ships  of  war,  the  rest 
having  been  built  for  trade.  The  nine  car¬ 
ried  54  guns  and  490  officers  and  men. 
Their  commander  was  but  twenty  -  eight 
years  of  age,  and  never  had  been  in  a 
naval  engagement.  The  British  fleet,  on 
the  other  hand,  while  numbering  only  six 
vessels,  had  63  guns,  502  officers  and 
men,  and  was  led  by  Commodore  Robert 
H.  Barclay,  a  naval  veteran  who  had  been 
with  Nelson  at  Trafalgar.  From  every  point 
of  view  the  conditions  seemed  favorable  to 
the  success  of  the  British  squadron. 

Perry  Monument,  Cleveland.  For  SOlTie  time  Perry’s  flag-ship,  LciW- 

rence ,  bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle.  Her 
rigging  was  shot  away,  her  sails  were  riddled,  her  guns  dismounted,  her  men  slain ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  her  battle-flag,  with  its  brave  motto,  “  Don’t  give  up  the  ship,” 
floating  from  her  one  remaining  mast,  must  either  be  lowered  in  surrender  to  the 
enemy,  or  go  with  her  to  the  bottom.  Just  when  defeat  appeared  inevitable,  how¬ 
ever,  Perry  transferred  his  flag  to  the  masthead  of  the  staunch  Niagara ,  passing 
in  an  open  boat,  and  amid  a  storm  of  shot,  from  the  one  vessel  to  the  other ; 


70 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  COMMODORE  O.  H.  PERRY,  SOUTH  KINGSTON 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


71 


and  then,  dashing  through  the  enemy’s  line,  pouring  broadside  after  broadside  into 
their  helpless  ships,  in  fifteen  minutes  he  had  won  the  battle  and  made  himself 
immortal.  His  victory  assured,  he  returned  to  the  bloody  deck  of  the  Lawrence, 
where  he  received  Barclay’s  surrender ;  and  then,  with  his  cap  for  a  desk,  wrote 
to  General  Harrison  his  famous  dispatch  :  “  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they 
are  ours,  —  two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and  one  sloop.” 

It  was  a  notable  victory.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  country  rang  with  the 
praises  of  the  successful  commander,  that  medals  were  struck  in  his  honor  and 
that  State  and  national  legislatures  tendered  him  their  votes  of  thanks.  At  a  sin¬ 
gle  blow  he  had  cleared  Lake  Erie  of  the  enemy’s  ships,  had  relieved  the  lake 
districts  of  their  fear  of  Proctor  and  his  horde  of  savages,  and  had  opened  the  way 
for  Harrison’s  invasion  of  Canada. 

The  accompanying  pictures  show  the  birthplace  of  Commodore  Perry  at  South 
Kingston,  R.  I.,  the  monument  erected  in  his  memory  at  Cleveland,  0.,  and  Put-In 
Bay,  near  which  the  great  battle  took  place.  The  last  picture  shows  in  the  fore¬ 
ground  the  graves  of  the  patriots  who  fell  in  the  engagement. 


Sailors’  Graves,  Put-In  Bay. 


THE  ATTACK  ON  BALTIMORE. 


THE  attack  on  Baltimore  is  one  of  the  memorable  events  of  the  war  of  1812. 
Considering  the  superior  equipment  of  the  attacking  forces,  the  result  seems 
like  a  contradiction  of  the  law  of  cause  and  effect.  The  British  admiral, 
Cochrane,  brought  sixteen  heavy  vessels  into  the  action  ;  while  cooperating  with 
them  was  a  large  land  force,  led  by  General  Ross,  a  veteran  of  the  Peninsular  war. 
Ross  was  opposed,  after  his  landing  at  Stony  Point,  by  a  body  of  militia  under  General 

Strieker.  Cochrane  had  before  him  only 
Fort  McHenry,  —  far  smaller  and  less 
formidable  than  it  is  now,  —  garrisoned  by 
about  one  thousand  men  under  command 
of  Major  George  Armistead.  Neither 
Ross  nor  Cochrane  reached  Baltimore, 
however. 

In  anticipation  of  the  attack,  the  nar¬ 
row  channel  between  the  fort  and  Laza¬ 
retto  Point  had  been  obstructed  with 
sunken  vessels.  To  the  right  the  landing 
of  the  enemy  was  opposed  by  two  small 
redoubts,  one  of  which,  Fort  Covington, 
is  shown  in  an  accompanying  picture. 

Having  anchored  his  ships  two  miles 
below  the  city,  Admiral  Cochrane  began 
the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry  on  the  morning  of  September  13,  1814.  Armi¬ 
stead  found  himself,  not  only  lacking  a  sufficient  force  of  men  to  contend  on  anything 
like  equal  terms  with  his  enemy,  but,  what  was  vastly  worse,  supplied  with  ordnance 
too  light  even  to  reach  the  attacking  ships.  From  the  anchorage  he  had  chosen, 
Cochrane  was  able  to  pour  a  torrent  of  shells  into  the  fort  without  receiving  a  shot 
in  return.  It  seemed  as  if  the  matter  was  to  be  determined  merely  by  the  amount  of 
ammunition  the  British  were  willing  to  expend  and  the  casemates  of  Fort  McHenry 
able  to  withstand.  Fortunately  for  the  city,  there  was  something  more  formidable 
than  small  numbers  and  short  cannon  within  the  lines  of  the  fort.  The  old-time 


Battle  Monument,  Baltimore. 


72 


FORT  McHENRY,  BALTIMORE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


73 


Maryland  bravery,  “the  spirit  of  1776,”  was  there.  That  made  defeat  improbable, 
conquest  impossible.  Once  during  the  fight  the  enemy  ventured  to  move  three  of 
his  bomb-ships  nearer  to  the  fort,  that  their  fire  might  be  more  effective  ;  but  they 
were  speedily  subjected  to  such  severe  punishment  as  to  necessitate  their  return  to 
their  former  anchorage.  The  cannonade  continued  all  through  the  day  and  long  into 
the  succeeding  night,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  a  force  of  twelve  hundred  picked 
men  was  landed  to  attack  the  place  in  the  rear.  It  was  all  to  no  purpose,  however. 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  still  waved  proudly  over  the  fort.  General  Ross  had  been 
killed ;  and  Colonel  Brooks,  who  succeeded  him,  was  unable  to  break  through  the 
line  of  Maryland  militia  which  Strieker  had  drawn  between  him  and  the  city.  Thor¬ 
oughly  discouraged,  Admiral  Cochrane,  towards  morning  on  the  14th,  signalled  his 
fleet  to  weigh  anchor,  the  land  forces  were  taken  on  board,  and  they  sailed  away. 
The  victory  was  won,  the  city  saved.  The  beautiful  Battle  Monument  shown  on  the 
first  page  of  this  article  was  erected  by  the  people  of  Baltimore  in  1825,  in  honor  of 
the  men  who  fell  in  defense  of  the  city  at  this  critical  point  in  its  history. 


Fort  Covington. 


BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


IN  many  respects  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  is  the  most  striking  victory  ever 
gained  by  American  arms.  On  the  enemy’s  side  about  six  thousand  men 
took  part  in  it.  This  force,  composed  largely  of  Wellington’s  famous  veter¬ 
ans,  was  the  very  flower  of  the  British  army.  The  commander  was  Sir  Edward 

Packenham,  “the  hero  of  Salamanca.” 
With  him  in  the  assault  were  Generals 
Keane  and  Gibbs,  able,  experienced  and 
brave  officers. 

The  American  forces  had  been 
contemptuously  styled  by  Packenham 
“a  handful  of  backwoodsmen.”  There 
were  scarcely  three  thousand  of  them 
in  the  line  of  battle  on  that  day,  and  of 
these  only  eight  hundred  were  regulars. 
Truly  they  were  but  a  handful,  and, 
for  the  greater  part,  backwoodsmen,  — 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky  riflemen,  un¬ 
trained  in  the  art  of  war,  but  skillful  in 
the  use  of  their  weapons,  and  brave  in 
the  defense  of  their  country,  kindred 
in  blood  and  training  and  character  with 
the  “embattled  farmers”  who  had  stood 
their  ground  “  by  the  rude  bridge  ”  at 
Concord  twoscore  years  before.  Their  general,  Andrew  Jackson,  was  himself  a 
backwoodsman  ;  but  he  was  destined  to  win,  on  that  memorable  8th  of  January, 
imperishable  fame  as  a  military  leader. 

The  battle  began  with  the  daylight  and  ended  before  nine  o’clock.  In  the  mean¬ 
time  regiment  after  regiment  of  England’s  veterans  had  marched  across  the  Plain 
of  Chalmette,  steadily,  firmly,  bravely,  to  meet  destruction  in  the  merciless  storm 
of  lead  which  flashed  and  thundered  from  behind  Jackson’s  frowning  breastworks. 
The  British  officers  had  done  all  that  valor  could  accomplish  to  save  the  day ;  but 
Packenham  was  dead,  Gibbs  was  dying  and  Keane  was  sorely  wounded. 

74 


Battle  Monument,  New  Orleans  Battle-field. 


JACKSON  SQUARE,  NEW  ORLEANS. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


75 


Never  was  victory  more  complete.  Never  was  battle  so  unequal.  Eight  were 
killed  and  thirteen  were  wounded  on  the  American  side  ;  seven  hundred  were  killed 
and  fourteen  hundred  were  wounded  on  the  British  side  !  The  result  of  the  battle 
was  most  momentous.  The  victory  could  not  alter  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent, 
signed  two  weeks  before  ;  but  it  could  and  did  give  them  a  different  meaning.  The 
document,  which,  in  December,  guaranteed  only  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  interpreted 
in  the  wisdom  learned  by  the  hard  lesson  at  New  Orleans,  became,  in  January,  the 
charter  of  every  principle  for  which  we  had  contended,  it  insured  English  recog¬ 
nition  of  American  sailors’  rights,  which  the  treaty  had  not  done.  It  did  more  than 
this.  It  compelled  the  respect  of  every  power  in  Europe  for  the  flag  of  the  young 
republic. 

In  Jackson  Square,  New  Orleans,  stands  a  magnificent  bronze  equestrian  statue 
of  the  hero  of  the  day.  On  the  battle-field,  six  miles  below  the  city,  is  a  monument 
erected  by  the  State  of  Louisiana  not  far  from  Jackson’s  headquarters.  Very  fittingly 
a  portion  of  the  battle-ground  has  been  converted  into  a  national  cemetery,  where 
sleep  the  heroes  of  a  later  war,  in  soil  consecrated  half  a  century  before  their  death 
by  the  bravery  of  their  countrymen  and  the  prowess  of  the  general,  whose  precept 
and  example,  like  Washington’s  before  him,  if  heeded,  would  have  saved  their 
sacrifice. 


Jackson's  Headquarters,  New  Orleans  Battle-field. 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 


IN  this  group  of  pictures  are  shown  the  house  in  which  Andrew  Jackson  was 
born,  on  the  Waxhaw  River,  in  Mecklenburg  County,  N.  C.,  March  15, 
1767;  his  home,  “The  Hermitage,”  twelve  miles  from  Nashville,  Tenn., 
where  he  died  June  8,  1845;  and  the  tomb,  under  which  repose  his  remains,  in 

the  garden  of  “  The  Hermitage.” 

Jackson’s  early  life,  like  that  of 
so  many  others  of  our  successful  pub¬ 
lic  men,  was  exceptionally  hard  and 
sternly  disciplinary.  Born  in  a  log 
cabin  and  losing  his  father  by  death 
in  his  earliest  infancy,  he  had  no 
friend  to  help  him  but  his  mother,  no 
fortune  but  his  magnificent  ability  and 
dauntless  personality.  His  mother, 
who,  like  his  father,  was  of  that  sturdy 
Scotch-lrish  Presbyterian  stock,  which, 
hating  oppression  and  loving  freedom, 
has  ever  been  one  of  the  guiding  forces 
of  the  republic,  designed  her  boy  for 
the  ministry.  At  thirteen  years  of  age, 
however,  he  was  fighting  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Revolutionary  soldiers,  under 
Sumter  at  Hanging  Rock.  The  boy 
had  found  his  vocation.  He  remained 
a  fighter  until  the  day  of  his  death. 
In  the  last  analysis  of  Jackson’s  char¬ 
acter,  we  find,  as  the  basal  principle  of  his  personality  and  the  foundation  of  his 
attainments  and  leadership,  this  element  of  soldierhood.  His  was  a  spirit  of  con¬ 
stant  contention  ;  whether  in  military  or  civil  life,  it  made  no  difference.  Whenever 
and  wherever  he  saw  the  head  of  opposition  he  smote  it.  The  names  of  honor  and 
endearment  given  him  by  his  admirers  —  “The  Romanesque  American,”  “That 

76 


Jackson’s  Tomb. 


THE  HERMITAGE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


77 


indomitable  son  of  Mars,”  ‘‘Old  Hickory”  —  all  emphasize  this  trait.  It  appears 
in  every  crisis  of  his  life,  and  in  every  incident  as  well.  He  was,  withal,  a  man  of 
wonderful,  intuitive  grasp  of  mind,  of  inflexible  honesty,  of  unconquerable  will.  His 
was  the  strongest  personality  that  has  ever  risen  above  the  horizon  of  American 
political  life.  When  he  had  formed  a  purpose,  nothing  but  ‘‘The  Eternal”  by 
whom  he  swore  could  turn  him  from  it.  No  man,  no  combination  of  men,  availed 
against  him.  Webster,  Clay  and  Calhoun  combined  could  not  change  his  purpose 
or  defeat  his  plans.  As  President  he  secured  for  himself  a  second  term,  and 
before  that  was  ended  he  saw  the  candidate  of  his  choice  elected  for  the  following 
term.  Of  course  such  a  man  as  he  made  mistakes  and  enemies.  He  did  not 
speculate  on  the  consequences  of  his  course.  He  did  not  consider  the  feelings 
of  those  opposed  to  or  allied  with  him.  He  acted ;  he  conquered ;  he  crushed,  if 
necessary.  It  was  inevitable  that  sometimes  his  opinions  should  have  been  wrong, 
his  expressions  hasty,  his  actions  rash.  But  in  his  entire  public  career,  he  was 
never  afraid ;  he  was  never  in  doubt ;  he  was  never  intentionally  wrong ;  he  was 
ever  a  patriot.  And  behind  the  sterner  qualities  of  the  man,  back  of  the  impetuous 
nature,  beneath  the  iron  will,  there  beat  a  great  heart,  ever  tender  and  ever  true 
to  the  common  people  from  whom  he  himself  had  sprung. 


Jackson’s  Birthplace. 


HARRISON  AND  TIPPECANOE. 


ENERAL  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  is  remembered  by  the  multi- 
Y  tude  as  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe.  His  public  services  were  varied  and 
important.  He  filled  a  large  place  in  his  country’s  history  for  more  than 
forty  years.  But  because  of  the  circumstances  attending  it,  this  battle  is  invested 
with  so  much  of  the  witchery  of  romance  that  his  brilliant  success  in  it  has  become, 

in  the  popular  estimation,  the  special 
sign  of  his  greatness. 

It  occurred  during  the  night  of 
November  6,  1811,  near  what  is  now 
the  village  of  Battle  Ground,  Ind.  Gen¬ 
eral  Harrison  was  encamped  at  this 
point  with  about  eight  hundred  men. 
A  large  body  of  Indians,  led  by  the 
“  Prophet,”  a  brother  of  the  noted  Te- 
cumtha,  attacked  him  under  cover  of 
the  darkness.  The  battle  was  a  des¬ 
perate  one,  continuing  until  the  morn¬ 
ing  ;  but  it  ended  in  the  complete 
defeat  of  the  savages,  and  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  influence  over  them  of  the 
impostor,  who,  in  the  role  of  prophet, 
had  assured  them  of  victory. 

Two  years  later,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Thames,  in  Canada,  General  Harrison,  with  the  army  of  the  Northwest,  utterly 
routed  a  British  force,  under  General  Proctor,  and  a  large  contingent  of  Indians  led 
by  Tecumtha.  The  results  of  this  battle  were  the  suppression  of  hostilities  on  the 
northwestern  border  of  the  Union,  the  death  of  the  arch-conspirator,  Tecumtha,  and 
the  breaking  up  of  the  Indian  confederacy. 

Resigning  his  commission  in  1814,  General  Harrison  entered  political  life,  and 
in  1840  became  the  ninth  President  of  the  republic.  He  had  been  true  to  every 
trust  committed  to  him  by  the  people.  He  had  been  successful  in  every  great 


Tippecanoe  Entrance. 


BATTLE-FIELD  OF  TIPPECANOE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


79 


undertaking  of  his  life,  and  his  success  had  been  won  in  matters  of  vast  moment 
to  the  country.  His  administration  of  Indian  affairs,  his  suppression  of  the  Indian 
rebellion,  his  sweeping  victories  in  the  Lake  Erie  campaign,  —  all  this  had  been  of 
immeasurable  importance  to  the  nation.  He  had  won  the  admiration  of  his  country¬ 
men  and  compelled  the  respect  of  their  enemies ;  and  it  was  a  fitting  climax  for 
such  a  career  when,  with  an  almost  unanimous  electoral  vote,  he  was  made  chief 
magistrate  of  the  nation. 

Only  a  month  after  his  inauguration,  however,  and  ere  the  rejoicings  over  his 
election  had  fairly  ceased,  the  people  were  called  to  mourn  for  his  death.  Soldier¬ 
like  he  fell  at  his  post,  honorably  and  faithfully  serving  his  country  ;  and  there  was 
unfeigned  grief  over  all  the  land,  as  his  body  was  laid  in  its  last  resting-place  at  the 
beautiful  spot  beside  the  Ohio,  where  the  most  sacred  associations  of  his  life  had 
been  formed,  and  where  its  happiest  hours  had  been  spent. 


Harrison’s  Tomb,  North  Bend,  Ohio. 


THE  SENATORIAL  TRIO. 


- - 

WEBSTER,  CLAY,  CALHOUN  !  These  names,  singled  out  from  the 
long  and  honorable  list  of  our  legislators,  and  grouped  upon  the  tablet 
of  fame  under  the  imperishable  title,  “  The  Great  Senatorial  Triumvi¬ 
rate  "  !  What  memories  they  awaken!  Grand,  majestic,  imperial,  like  the  moun¬ 
tains  of  the  Granite  State  whence  he 
sprung,  Daniel  Webster  was  the  great 
expounder.  Henry  Clay,  —  Harry  Clay, 
as  his  friends  loved  to  call  him,  — 
courtly  and  genial,  seemed  like  the 
embodiment  of  Kentuckian  hospitality, 
and  in  political  as  in  social  life  was 
ever  the  pacificator.  John  C.  Calhoun 
was  the  very  personification  of  the  fire 
and  persistence  of  the  Palmetto  State, 
and  was  always  the  agitator. 

These  three  men,  each  so  great 
that  association  with  him  is  an  honor 
to  the  other  two,  together  constitute  a 
trio  of  senatorial  ability  and  eloquence 
probably  never  matched  in  any  other 
country  at  any  single  period  of  the 
world’s  history. 

Webster  was  New  Hampshire’s 
gift  to  Massachusetts.  Born  at  Salis¬ 
bury,  educated  at  Dartmouth  College,  and  winning  his  first  forensic  triumphs  at 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire  is  at  least  as  much  entitled  to  the  glory  of  his  later 
achievements  as  is  the  State  of  his  adoption.  At  an  early  age  he  seemed  to  a  sage 
across  the  water  “like  a  huge  anthracite  furnace,  only  needing  to  be  blown.”  The 
breath  to  wake  the  slumbering  flame  was  not  wanting,  only  waiting. 

Clay  is  identified  with  his  home  at  Ashland,  a  little  hamlet  near  Lexington, 

Kentucky.  He  was  essentially  a  man  among  the  people.  The  orator  for  the 

80 


HOME  OF  HENRY  CLAY. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


81 


masses,  he  shunned  all  technique  and  conventionality,  and  spoke  to  the  common 
heart.  The  common  people  heard  him  gladly.  Always  he  was  to  them  a  prophet. 
He  took  up  their  tale,  spoke  their  thought,  voiced  their  hope,  and  interpreted  their 
dream.  As  by  lightning  vision,  he  saw  the  heart  of  vast  masses  of  men,  and  seized 
intuitively  the  situation. 

John  C.  Calhoun’s  home  was  at  Fort  Hill,  S.  C.,  in  the  hill  country  of  the 
State.  His  dust  lies  in  old  St.  Phillip’s  churchyard  at  Charleston.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  dignity  of  manner,  logical  bent  of  mind  and  with  intense  convictions ; 
of  ardent  nature,  yet  most  tenacious  of  purpose ;  a  man  to  be  feared  as  an  opponent, 
yet  withal  of  spotless  character,  of  broad  sympathies,  of  high  ideals. 

These  three  illustrious  men  came  upon  the  stage  of  action  at  a  time  when  the 
colonial  epoch  had  barely  spent  itself.  They  lived  through  a  period  of  great  transi¬ 
tions,  when  the  national  forces  were  shaping  themselves,  ■ —  a  period  of  momentous 
problems  and  impending  crises.  It  was  natural  that  they  should  have  been  not  always 
right. ;  but,  whatever  their  political  dogmas,  each  was  sincere  and  faithful  to  the  truth 
as  he  saw  it. 


Webster’s  Birthplace. 


THE  CAPITOL. 


THE  Capitol  at  Washington  is  one  of  the  most  imposing  structures  in  the 
world.  Approached  from  any  direction  it  gives  the  impression  of  chaste, 
massive  splendor;  and  its  proportions  are  so  vast,  and  its  materials  and 
workmanship  so  excellent,  that  this  impression  is  strengthened  by  close  and 

Capitol  Hill,  and  is  sur¬ 
rounded  by  magnificent 
grounds  5 1  jA  acres  in 
extent. 

The  Capitol  is  751 
feet  long,  324  feet  in 
width,  and  covers  3*4 
acres.  It  is  surrounded 
on  three  sides,  —  north, 
west  and  south,  —  by  a 
marble  terrace  and  stair¬ 
way,  adding  much  to  its 
architectural  effect.  On 
the  east  is  the  Central 
Portico,  on  the  steps  of 
which  the  presidents,  from 
Andrew  Jackson  to  the  present  occupant  of  the  White  House,  have  taken  the  oath 
of  office.  At  the  entrance  from  this  Portico  is  the  great  Bronze  Door,  nine  feet 
high  and  weighing  ten  tons.  One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  exterior  of 
the  building  is  its  massive  iron  Dome,  268  feet  high,  reckoning  from  the  ground  line, 
135 >4  feet  in  diameter,  and  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  Liberty  \9l/2  feet  in  height. 

The  principal  points  of  interest  within  are  the  Rotunda,  the  Senate  Chamber, 
the  Supreme  Court  Room,  the  National  Statuary  Hall  and  the  Hall  of  Represen¬ 
tatives.  The  Rotunda  is  96  feet  in  diameter  and  180  in  height.  Its  frieze  and 
canopy  are  ornamented  with  remarkable  allegorical  paintings  by  Constantine  Brumidi. 
The  Senate  Chamber  is  in  the  north  wing,  and  adjoining  it  is  the  President’s  Room, 
—  perhaps  the  grandest  in  the  building.  The  Hall  of  Representatives  with  its 
spacious  galleries  is  found  in  the  south  wing. 

82 


continued  inspection.  It  has  a  beautiful  situation  on 


The  Capitol,  from  the  East. 


THE  CAPITOL. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


83 


The  Capitol  represents  the  combined  legislative,  administrative  and  judicial 
functions  of  a  popular  government.  It  is  hardly  a  metaphor  to  speak  of  it  as  the 
heart  of  the  American  body  politic.  The  petitions  which  reach  it  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  and  the  laws  and  decisions  which  emanate  from  it  are  the  pulse-beats 
of  the  national  life.  Through  it  the  nation  becomes  a  personality,  definite,  recogniz¬ 
able,  responsible. 

Think  of  the  building  in  this  way.  See  it  as  the  life-center  of  the  nation  itself, 
the  vigor  and  health  of  the  whole  body  at  once  influenced  and  indicated  by  the 
spirit  and  action  of  the  powers  assembled  here.  Stand  on  its  lofty  dome  and  look 
off  over  the  incomparable  landscape.  Let  your  thought  go  beyond  the  line  of  physical 
vision  and  take  in  the  vastness  of  the  possibilities  which  open  before  you,  —  the 
marvelous  things  that  May  Be  for  such  a  country.  And  lifted  there  in  the  silence 
between  the  earth  and  the  clouds,  the  emblem  of  Freedom  above  you,  the  symbols 
of  power  beneath,  and  the  possibilities  of  greatness  before  you,  pray  God  that,  along 
with  the  grand  idea  of  Liberty  enlightening  the  world,  this  heart  of  the  great  republic 
may  hold  and  propagate  the  grander  idea  of  Righteousness  lifting  the  world  into  the 
light  of  the  Divine  presence,  and  giving  to  the  nations  the  elements  of  a  Divine 
permanence. 


The  Capitol,  from  Pennsylvania  Avenue. 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


85 


Room  ”  is  open  to  the  public.  The  right  of  the  president  and  his  household  to  the 
inviolable  privacy  of  family  life  is  recognized;  but  the  right  of  every  citizen  to  audience 
with  the  president  is  maintained  also.  The  building  is  a  house,  not  a  palace.  No 
expense  has  been  spared  to  make  it  worthy  of  the  high  station  of  its  occupants ;  but 
it  contains  no  throne,  no  insignia  of  royal  state  or  autocratic  power. 

The  White  House  was  begun  in  1792  under  the  personal  supervision  of  Wash¬ 
ington.  It  stood  for  many  years  half  lost  among  the  straggling  fragments  of  the  new 
capital.  Now,  however,  it  is  in  the  midst  of  magnificent  buildings  and  surrounded  by 
grounds  adorned  with  all  that  wealth  can  purchase  or  art  devise.  British  soldiers 
attempted  to  burn  it  in  1814  ;  but,  like  the  nation,  it  passed  through  the  fire  without 
being  consumed,  and  was  soon  restored  to  more  than  its  former  splendor. 

The  building  symbolizes  the  brotherhood  of  the  American  people,  and  suggests 
the  thought  of  the  nation  as  one  great  family.  The  Executive  Mansion  is  not  simply 
an  official  residence,  like  Windsor  Castle  or  the  Winter  Palace.  It  is  a  home,  in  all 
the  broad  and  holy  significance  of  the  word,  —  the  home  of  the  nation  as  represented 
in  the  president  and  his  household.  Plain,  substantial,  symmetrical,  without  mere¬ 
tricious  adornment  or  tawdry  coloring,  it  forms  a  fitting  domicile  for  the  chosen  head 
and  representative  of  a  great  brotherhood  of  citizens. 


The  White  House ;  South  Park  view. 


SUMTER  AND  APPOMATTOX. 


SUMTER  marks  the  beginning  of  the  American  civil  war.  It  was  here  that 
Major  Anderson  and  his  feeble  garrison  of  sixty-five  soldiers  waited  through 
the  long,  lonely  hours  of  the  night  for  the  coming  of  the  daylight  of  April 
12,  1861.  The  day  dawned  at  last,  dull  and  drear,  fit  morning  for  the  inauguration 
of  fratricidal  war.  At  half-past  four  the  little  band  of  the  fort’s  defenders  saw,  in 
the  direction  of  Morris  Island,  a  bright  flash.  In  a  few  seconds  they  heard  the 


Fort  Sumter. 


report  of  a  cannon  ;  and  then  the  shell,  which  had  sprung  forth  with  flash  and 
roar  from  the  throat  of  the  first  gun  of  the  Rebellion,  —  fired  by  Edward  Ruffin  of 
Virginia,  —  fell  and  burst  within  the  walls  of  the  nation’s  fort.  The  echo  of  the 
shot  fired  at  dawn  was  heard  before  dusk  in  every  city  and  well-nigh  every  hamlet 
in  the  land.  Its  effect  was  electrical.  It  roused  the  slumbering  North  from  her 
pleasant  dream  of  an  impossible  peace  to  a  keen  consciousness  of  the  stern  reality. 
It  thrilled  her  people  like  loudest  bugle-call.  It  summoned  her  peaceful  citizens 
from  field  and  bench  and  desk,  and  marshaled  them  for  war,  a  mighty  host,  more 
numerous  than  that  led  by  Xerxes.  During  four  weary  years  there  was  hardly  a 
day  without  its  skirmish  or  a  week  without  its  battle.  Half  the  country  was 
devastated,  and  the  other  half  drained  of  its  resources ;  while  the  industries  of  the 
civilized  world  awaited  in  suspense  the  issue  of  the  contest.  Upwards  of  half  a 
million  men  were  killed  by  battle  or  disease,  and  nearly  half  a  million  more  were 
maimed  in  body  or  broken  in  health.  The  war’s  awful  shadow  lay  upon  the  whole 

land,  dimming  the  light  of  every  home.  There  were  six  hundred  thousand  vacant 

86 


GRANT’S  HEADQUARTERS,  CITY  POINT. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


87 


chairs  by  our  firesides,  and  upon  millions  of  hearts  a  burden  of  grief  almost  too 
heavy  to  be  borne.  But  a  race  was  freed  from  bondage.  The  stain  of  slavery 
was  washed  away  in  blood  and  tears,  and  the  American  Union  was  preserved  and 
strengthened.  Out  of  the  suffering  has  come  glory,  out  of  the  darkness  has  come 
light,  out  of  the  passion  has  come  peace,  out  of  the  evil  has  come  good.  Until 
deeds  of  daring  cease  to  arouse  our  admiration,  until  sacrifice  and  suffering  fail  to 
enlist  our  sympathy,  until  patriotism  is  no  longer  able  to  warm  our  hearts,  the 
heroism  of  our  citizen  soldiers  in  that  war  will  be  the  theme  of  the  story  that  shall 
move  us,  and  of  the  song  that  shall  thrill  us. 

Appomattox  marks  the  ending,  as  Sumter  does  the  beginning,  of  the  war. 
The  accompanying  photogravure  shows  General  Grant’s  headquarters  at  City  Point, 
where,  during  the  operations  against  Petersburg,  he  directed  those  resistless  move¬ 
ments  of  the  Northern  armies  which,  with  the  inevitableness  of  fate,  compelled  the 
collapse  of  the  Confederacy.  The  sketch  below  shows  the  famous  field  of  Appo¬ 
mattox,  the  spot  in  the  foreground  marked  by  a  stone  being  the  place  where  General 
Lee  met  General  Grant,  on  the  morning  of  April  9,  1865,  to  surrender  the  frag¬ 
ment  that  was  left  of  the  great  army  of  northern  Virginia.  The  event  was  the 
supreme  test  of  Grant’s  greatness  of  mind  and  heart,  and  was  pregnant  with  the 
fate  of  the  nation.  The  Confederacy  was  conquered  ;  yet  there  was  a  “  bloody 
chasm  ”  between  South  and  North,  which  on  that  morning  looked  as  if  it  must 
yawn  forever.  But  Grant  bridged  the  chasm  with  a  dozen  strokes  of  his  pen,  and 
lived  to  see  it  closed.  His  exhibition  of  sagacity  and  magnanimity  was  simply 
sublime.  It  made  Appomattox  the  spot,  not  where  the  South  was  conquered,  but 
where  the  war  ended,  where  peace  began,  and  where  the  country  was  reunited.  It 
changed  the  four  years  of  struggle  into  a  period  of  travail,  and  the  time  of  its  close 
into  the  hour  of  the  new  birth  of  the  nation. 


Field  of  Appomattox. 


GETTYSBURG. 


ETTYSBURG,  a  county  capital  and  quiet  college  town  of  Pennsylvania,  is 
-y  famous  as  the  field  of  one  of  the  few  great  and  decisive  battles  of  the  world. 
No  spot  on  the  continent,  nor  on  any  continent,  has  been  the  scene  of  more 
frightful  war,  or  the  theater  of  more  magnificent  heroism.  Such  a  battle  must  be 

viewed  from  a  distance  to  be  correctly 
estimated.  We  are  too  near  to  it  yet. 
In  years  to  come  it  will  be  recognized  as 
a  point  in  history  at  which  the  volcanic 
forces  of  human  passion  threw  up  one  of 
the  solitary,  towering,  awful  peaks  of  mili¬ 
tary  achievement.  Pickett’s  charge  and 
its  repulse  will  be  a  parallel  for  the  scene 
on  the  field  of  Waterloo,  when  Napoleon’s 
Old  Guard  swept  forward,  like  a  tidal 
wave,  to  be  broken  on  the  immovable 
rock  of  Wellington’s  famous  squares. 

But  we  are  not  concerned  now  with 
the  battle  itself  so  much  as  with  the 
pathetic  suggestions  of  its  graves  and 
monuments.  We  are  visiting  Gettysburg 
the  cemetery,  rather  than  Gettysburg  the 
battle-field ;  and  viewing  it  as  the  burial- 
place,  not  of  the  soldiers  only,  but  of  the 
strife  as  well.  Let  our  thought  be  of 
the  closing  of  the  chasm  ;  of  the  fact 
that  the  heroes  of  both  sides  who  fell,  sleep  on  the  same  field  ;  and  that  those  who 
survived  are  united  in  the  effort  to  make  the  country  worthy  of  the  sacrifices,  which 
have  been  laid  on  its  altar. 

The  field  itself  is  monumental.  Culp’s  Hill,  Cemetery  Ridge,  Round  Top, 
Devil’s  Den,  —  these  are  Nature’s  landmarks,  each  one  commemorating  some  part 

of  the  great  battle.  Memorials  have  been  erected,  too,  by  the  nation,  expressing 

88 


National  Monument,  Gettysburg. 


GETTYSBURG  BATTLE-FIELD. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


89 


its  veneration  for  the  memory  of  the  men  who  are  buried  here.  One  of  these,  the 
Soldiers’  Monument,  was  dedicated  in  1888. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  cemetery,  in  1863,  President  Lincoln  made  an  address, 
remarkable  for  its  comprehensive  grasp,  and  brief,  pungent  expression,  of  the  thoughts 
which  a  great  mind  would  think,  and  the  feelings  which  a  true  heart  would  cherish, 
on  such  an  occasion.  He  spoke  as  the  mouthpiece  of  the  nation,  consecrating 
the  ground  to  its  new  and  sacred  use  with  the  baptism  of  his  own  loving,  catholic 
spirit. 

Who  can  view  these  endless  rows  of  graves  and  not  feel  the  force  of  their 
mute  appeal  ?  Who  can  look  upon  them  and  not  have  his  heart  moved  with  pro¬ 
found  admiration  for  the  heroism  of  all  the  men  lying  around  him,  and  with  profound 
regret  that  such  men  should  have  been  so  sacrificed?  Yet  who,  seeing  Gettysburg 
as  it  is,  will  not  thank  God  that,  out  of  such  fiery  trial,  there  has  come  a  greater 
nation  with  a  grander  future? 


Grand  Army  Monument,  Gettysburg. 


ARLINGTON  HEIGHTS. 


- manioc - 

THIS  group  of  pictures  introduces  us  to  a  place  of  surpassing  beauty  and  of 
permanent  national  interest.  It  was  originally  the  home  of  G.  W.  Parke 
Custis,  the  adopted  son  of  General  Washington.  Subsequently  it  came  into 
possession  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee  by  his  marriage  with  Mary  Custis,  the  great- 

granddaughter  of  the  wife  of  Washing¬ 
ton.  During  the  Civil  War  it  was 
confiscated  by  the  United  States  gov¬ 
ernment  and  made  a  national  cemetery. 

Nature  dealt  most  lavishly  with 
the  place,  and  its  natural  attractions 
have  been  enhanced  and  multiplied  by 
human  agency.  It  occupies  high  ground 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Potomac  oppo¬ 
site  the  city  of  Washington.  The  view 
from  the  front  of  the  mansion  is  espe¬ 
cially  fine,  taking  in  the  broad  sweep  of 
the  river,  and  the  delightful  confusion 
of  trees  and  towering  buildings  and 
open  parks  of  the  city  on  the  opposite 
bank.  Follow  its  winding  paths,  under 
the  overarching  trees,  through  the  rich, 
vine-tangled  shrubbery ;  down  into  the 
shaded  ravine,  where  the  birds  sing 
softly  and  the  shadows  sweep,  like  the 
drapery  of  spirit  forms,  over  the  resting  places  of  the  dead ;  and  on  again  into  the 
sunlight  at  some  point  where  the  landscape  stretches  away  before  you  in  a  panorama 
of  indescribable  loveliness,  the  rich  green  mantle  of  field  and  forest  touched  here 
and  there  with  the  flashing  sheen  of  the  river,  and  rolling  away  to  meet  the  bend¬ 
ing  arch  of  the  dreamy  Virginian  sky;  while  the  whole  scene  is  bathed  in  a  soft, 
shimmering  light  that  makes  it  seem  as  if  the  air  had  gone  to  sleep;  —  you  may 

90 


To  the  Unknown  Dead. 


SOLDIERS’  GRAVES,  ARLINGTON  HEIGHTS 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


91 


wander  thus  for  hours,  and  leave  the  place  at  last  with  a  feeling  of  regret,  and  with 
a  remembrance  of  its  charms  which  no  subsequent  experience  can  efface. 

But  the  true  citizen’s  interest  in  it  is  not  determined  by  the  beauty  of  its  scenery. 
It  is  holy  ground  to  him,  because  it  is  the  resting-place  of  the  nation’s  dead.  Over 
sixteen  thousand  of  them  are  buried  in  its  graves.  One  huge  sarcophagus  alone 
encloses  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  eleven  of  “the  unknown  dead.”  The  Un¬ 
known  Dead!  —  Yes:  unknown,  because  they  fell  where  the  fierce  storm  of  battle 
swept  away  all  means  of  recognition !  unknown,  because,  brave  souls,  their  names 
were  lost  in  the  glory  of  the  deeds  they  wrought!  Unknown?  Nay;  but  known 
to  the  great  heart  of  the  nation  only  as  her  faithful  sons,  and  loved  as  such ! 

Move  softly,  then,  as  ye  thread  the  lines  of  this  great  bivouac  of  sleeping  heroes ! 
Softly,  —  for  the  love  of  a  million  hearts  is  sleeping  with  them !  Softly,  —  for  the 
dewdrops  on  the  flowers  and  falling  from  the  leaves  are  the  tears  that  have  been 
shed  in  a  million  homes  for  their  death!  Softly,  softly,  —  for  ’tis  holy  ground,  and 
the  angel  guards  are  watching  while  the  tired  soldiers  sleep !  Softly,  softly,  — 
let  them  sleep,  under  the  roses  and  the  immortelles,  with  the  song  of  the  birds 
and  the  touch  of  the  sunshine  about  their  resting-place,  till  in  the  breaking  glory  of 
the  eternal  dawn  they  waken  for  the  grand  review. 


The  Lee  Mansion. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


UPON  the  opposite  page  is  shown  the  plain  house  at  Springfield,  Ill.,  in  which, 
at  the  time,  was  living  the  homely  man,  who,  in  1861,  was  called  by  the 
voice  of  the  people  —  which  this  time,  if  not  always,  was  “the  voice  of 
God”  also  —  to  become  the  head  of  a  nation  divided  against  itself.  On  this  page 

is  the  picture  of  the  house  where  that 
man’s  life-work  ceased.  The  last  pic¬ 
ture  of  the  group  shows  us  the  tomb 
and  monument  erected  over  the  mortal 
remains  of  the  same  man,  the  greatest 
political  leader  of  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury, —  Abraham  Lincoln,  —  the  Savior, 
in  as  real  a  sense  as  Washington  was 
the  Father,  of  his  country. 

His  life  is  a  superb  illustration  of 
greatness  achieved.  He  was  not  born 
to  it,  nor  was  it  thrust  upon  him.  With 
such  advantage  of  circumstances  only 
as  he  could  compel  from  the  restric¬ 
tions  and  limitations  and  scant  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  his  boyhood’s  struggle  with 
frontier  poverty,  unaided  and  alone, 
step  by  step,  as  advocate,  politician, 
debater,  orator,  statesman,  leader,  pa- 

House  in  which  Lincoln  died. 

triot,  he  climbed  to  greatness.  His 
were  those  imperial  qualities  of  head  and  heart  which,  whatever  a  man’s  environ¬ 
ment,  give  him  the  mastery  over  self,  over  his  fellows,  over  fate.  Circumstances 
cannot  control  such  a  character.  In  spite  of  circumstances,  —  because  of  circum¬ 
stances,  —  a  man  like  Lincoln  will  assert  himself.  The  very  obstacles  which  would 
turn  a  more  timid  soul  from  his  course,  he  will  use  as  stepping-stones  forward 
and  upward.  And  so,  one  great  secret  of  Lincoln’s  power  was  the  life,  with  all 
its  seeming  limitations,  into  which  he  was  born,  the  life  of  the  common  people, 


HOME  OF  LINCOLN  IN  1861. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


93 


from  which  he  never  separated  himself.  Whether  in  log-cabin  or  White  House, 
whether  haranguing  a  backwoods  jury  or  penning  the  document  that  was  to  redeem 
a  race  from  bondage,  his  consciousness  of  oneness  with  the  people,  including  an 
almost  instinctive  perception  of  their  every  possible  mood,  was  always  present,  and 
is  the  key  to  his  personality.  His  acts  were  “  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the 
people.”  In  every  great  crisis  he  planted  himself  upon  their  deepest  instincts  and 
broadest  humanities,  and  the  foundation  was  always  firm  beneath  his  feet.  A  whole 
literature  has  been  written  about  him.  Vocabularies  have  been  exhausted  upon  his 
character.  He  has  been  painted  both  as  demigod  and  devil ;  but  the  calm  course 
of  events  is  showing  that  both  views  are  false.  The  man  has  not  suffered  by  this 
evolution  of  history.  Little  has  been  found  in  him  to  condemn.  It  cannot  be  truth¬ 
fully  said,  even,  that  he  loved  the  South  the  less,  but  only  that  he  loved  his  whole 
country  the  more.  What  stand  out  most  clearly  are  his  keen  instincts,  his  com¬ 
mon  sense,  his  homely  honesty,  his  quick  wit,  his  confidence  in  the  people,  his 
faith  in  his  country’s  future,  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  his  love 
for  the  American  Union. 


,  \ 


Lincoln’s  Tomb  and  Monument. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT. 


C~^  ENERAL  GRANT’S  hold  upon  the  hearts  of  the  American  people,  acquired 
jp  through  their  admiration  of  his  achievements  and  their  gratitude  for  his 
services,  has  been  greatly  strengthened  by  the  quiet,  yet  eloquent,  appeal 
made  to  their  imagination,  their  sympathy  and  their  love  by  the  fascinating  sim¬ 
plicity  of  his  character.  The  chief  charm  of  his  personality  and  a  distinguishing 
mark  of  his  greatness  is,  that  he  is  so  easily  understood.  His  character  has 

salient  points  that  can  be  laid 
hold  upon,  which  is  never  the 
case  with  mediocrity. 

There  is  his  modesty.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  a  vain 
man  would  have  waited  for  a 
position  befitting  at  least  his 
training  and  experience,  if  not 
his  capacity ;  but  within  ten 
days  from  the  President’s  first 
call  for  volunteers,  he  had  raised 
and  drilled  a  company,  and  was 
ready  for  any  service.  This  trait 
lends  additional  luster  to  the  brilliancy  of  his  victories  in  the  West.  It  shines  in 
his  dispatches  as  commander-in-chief.  It  was  undimmed  by  the  honors  which  fol¬ 
lowed  the  war.  Its  brightest  glow  is  upon  the  pages  of  his  “  Personal  Memoirs.” 

To  balance  his  modesty  he  possessed  self-reliance.  That  rare  sagacity  in 
military  affairs,  approaching  intuition  in  its  nature  and  amounting  to  genius  in  its 
results,  which  told  him  that  Sherman  and  Sheridan  were  the  right  men  in  the  right 
places,  assured  him  of  his  own  fitness  to  command.  He  knew  himself.  It  was  in 
this  self-reliance  that  his  tenacity  of  purpose  was  grounded.  His  ability  to  “  hold 
on”  and  ‘‘fight  it  out”  was  not  stubbornness,  but  resoluteness.  Such  a  man  of 
necessity  succeeds  in  his  undertakings.  He  can,  when  others  cannot.  He  per¬ 
forms  the  impossible.  He  makes  history.  He  is  history. 

What  an  illustration  of  his  power  our  great  general  gave  us  at  the  end,  when, 

94 


* 


H 


I 


;  :  ••  "  h 


/ 


/ 


HOME  OF  GRANT  IN  1861. 


AMERICAN  LANDMARKS. 


95 


old  and  stricken  by  disease,  his  fortune  gone  through  the  knavery  of  those  whom 
he  had  trusted,  his  heart  sore  from  their  ingratitude  and  torn  by  anxiety  for  his 
family,  he  entered  upon  his  last  campaign, — this  time  against  Death!  In  this,  as 
in  former  ones,  his  plans  succeeded.  He  knew  what  the  issue  must  be,  and  so 
aimed,  not  to  win  a  final  victory,  but  only  to  hold  the  grim  destroyer  at  bay  until 
he  had  done  his  task,  and  placed  his  wife  and  children  beyond  dependence  even 
upon  the  gratitude  of  his  country. 

There  was  also  his  magnanimity,  —  how  great  in  the  very  moment  of  victory, 
and  afterwards,  when  from  the  depths  of  his  great  soul  he  cried  :  “  Let  us  have 
peace  !  ” 

During  his  presidency  the  fifteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted, 
the  principle  of  international  arbitration  was  established,  and  the  movement  for  civil 
service  reform  was  inaugurated ;  all  of  which  measures  he  earnestly  advocated.  He 
will  be  remembered,  however,  not  as  the  president,  but  as  the  general.  Measured 
by  any  rule,  he  must  always  rank  among  the  world’s  great  military  leaders.  Judged 
by  the  records  or  the  results  of  his  battles  and  campaigns,  he  stands  alone. 


Cottage  in  which  Grant  died. 


OUR  NATIONAL  SONGS. 


OUR  reverence  is  due  to  the  memory  of  the  men  whose  military  genius  and 
heroism  won  our  national  freedom  ;  but  we  owe  equal  honor  to  those  whose 
poetic  inspiration  has  given  us  the  songs  in  which  the  national  faith  and 
feeling  have  found  nurture  and  expression.  Who  can  tell  what  influence  these  songs 
have  had,  or  what  results  they  have  produced  ?  Their  work  has  been  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  finer  and  more  enduring  elements  of  patriotism  in  the  American  char¬ 
acter.  They  have  taught  us  that  there 
are  grander  victories  than  those  of  the 
battle-field,  and  higher  ideals  than  that 
of  military  supremacy.  In  home  and 
school,  in  store  and  office,  in  town- 
house  and  church,  they  have  brought 
into  our  life  the  noble  and  ennobling 
qualities  of  solicitude  for  our  country’s 
honor,  loyalty  to  her  interests,  pride  in 
her  prosperity  and  prayer  for  her  peace. 

“Hail  Columbia”  was  written  by 
Joseph  Hopkinson,  in  1798,  when  war 
with  France  seemed  inevitable,  and  the 
patriotic  feeling  was  especially  strong.  It  struck  exactly  the  note  for  which  the 
popular  heart  was  waiting.  From  city  to  city,  from  State  to  State  it  spread,  until 
the  whole  nation  were  singing  it.  To-day,  after  a  hundred  years  of  use,  it  is 
loved  and  sung  with  equal  fervor  by  a  tenfold  greater  nation. 

“The  Star-spangled  Banner”  was  the  spontaneous  outburst  of  patriotic  emotion 
from  the  heart  of  Francis  Scott  Key,  as  he  paced  the  deck  of  the  captive  Minden 
during  the  night  of  September  13,  1814,  an  unwilling  witness  of  Admiral  Cochrane’s 
attack  on  Fort  McHenry.  The  scene  was  well  suited  to  awaken  the  poetic  spirit 
of  such  a  man.  The  roar  of  the  enemy’s  guns  was  the  voice  of  insolent  and  cruel 
aggression.  The  fort  stood  as  the  defense  of  all  the  interests  dear  to  the  patriot 
heart.  Back  of  it  were  home,  friends,  freedom  and  honor.  The  flag  waving  over 
its  battlements  was  the  symbol  of  national  independence,  and  a  reminder  of  the 

96 


HOME  OF  JOSEPH  HOPKINSON. 


AMERICAN.  LANDMARKS. 


97 


heroism  by  which  that  independence  had  been  won.  All  this,  with  the  darkness  of 
the  night  and  the  uncertainty  as  to  what  the  result  of  the  attack  would  be,  combined 
to  stir  the  soul  of  Key  till  from  its  depths  there  burst  forth  the  song  which  Americans 
will  never  cease  to  sing. 

“My  country,  ’tis  of  thee,”  by  Dr.  Samuel  F.  Smith,  was  written  in  1832, 
and  was  the  outgrowth  of  an  effort  to  introduce  good  music  into  our  public  schools. 
It  was  first  used  at  a  children’s  celebration  in  the  Park  Street  Church,  Boston.  In  a 
recent  letter,  Dr.  Smith  writes :  “  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  my  hymn  sung 
in  various  languages  and  full  half  way  ’round  the  world,  ...  on  land  and  ocean, 
from  Pike’s  Peak  and  in  the  buried  city  of  Pompeii ;  and  never  with  more  satis¬ 
faction  than  on  the  21st  of  October,  1892,  —  my  birthday,  —  when  its  notes,  cele¬ 
brating  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  following  the  sun,  were  sounded 
across  the  continent  from  sea  to  sea,  poured  from  the  lips  and  hearts  of  a  pros¬ 
perous,  united  and  happy  nation.” 


Home  of  Samuel  F.  Smith,  Newton,  Mass. 


